LIBRARY OF COf^ iESS, 





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OF THE 



EIVOSINIAN SOCIETY, 

COLUMBIAN COLLEGE, D. C. 

II Donodedit XZ^erT^T^ " 

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THE 

GRACE OF GOD 

IN THE 

JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER ': 

TO WHICH IS ADDED, 

A DIALOGUE 

BETWEEN 

CUSHI AND AHIMAAZ, 

OR 

SATAN'S LAWSUIT WITH A SAINT. 



BY WILLIAM HUNTINGTON, S. S. 

OF LONDON'. 



WDRhh 



Q* W90 ** 

BALTIMORE : 1*$* j **&£& 



PRINTED FOR GEORGE CARNAGHAN, 
BY ROBINSON AND FISHER. 

1811. 



T1 b 




THE 



JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER ; 



OR, 



SATAN'S LAW-SUIT WITH A SAINT. 



CUSHI having lost his royal master, took a 
solitary walk to reflect on the past experiences, and 
wonderful deliverances, left upon record by him ; 
until, in a measure, he thought they became, accor- 
ding to his sensations, like his own experience. He 
suddenly found his understanding much opened, 
wordly things vanished from his mind, and every 
thought of his heart appeared at command, which he 
employed in reflecting on past mercies, and in pleas- 
ing anticipations on future glory. 

Reflections on his past conduct brought many 
things fresh to his mind, which afforded matter for 
real contrition. But the thoughts of God's long for- 
bearance and slowness to anger, dissolved his soul, 
and excited his warmest gratitude. He came sud- 
denly to the brow of a little hill, which is called the 
Hill Mizar. Here Cushi meditated upon the for- 
mer deliverance of his royal master. 

On this view, sain he, his false hope gave way, and 
the thoughts of his sins sunk him into the keenest 
sensations of divine displeasure, which involved him 
in all real and imaginary horror. Here it was that 
he prayed out cf the depths of despondency ;. and his 
prayer was answered by the Saviour in an open vi- 
sion of death Qn the cross. Here my ulciv J mastet 



4 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER ; 

saw the crucilixion of the son of God. Yea, he saw 
his persecutors pierce his hands and feet. He saw 
them part his garment among them, and cast lots on 
his vesture. This made him so dotingly fond of this 
little hilh Who can describe the feelings of a soul 
encompassed with the fears of death, and chains of 
guilt ? When the great Redeemer appears burdened 
as the sinner's sponsor, in all the agonies of an un- 
paralleled sufferer, burdened with all his sins, under 
the awful arrest of vindictive justice, and sinking into 
the threefold shades of treble death. 

Oh love, love, love ! Love fixed upon an enemy— 
an enemy in open rebellion i Love that would under- 
take to cope with divine vengeance : Love that would 
expose truth, purity, and innocence, to ignominy, 
scorn, and derision ; and all to redeem, rescue, and 
reconcile a rebel to the best of sovereigns, and make 
the completely miserable, eternally happy. My mas- 
ter's hope sprung from the visions of death, and pur- 
sued the resurrection of his adorable Lord, " to an 
inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that shall 
never fade away.' 1 

Surely it was an imperceptible faith that made him 
importune ; and it was patience in importuning that 
brought him to such a blessed experience ; and the 
experience of such a deliverance brought him to hope* 

Oh that I may never forget, or lose the sense of 
his deliverance ; the petitions that he put up ; nor 
this sacred spot, where his deliverance was wrought. 
Here it was that he said, " Oh, my God ! my soul is 
cast down within me, and thou raised me up; there- 
fore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan, 
and of the Hermonites from the Hill Mizar. Deep 
callethunto deep." Psalm xlii. 6, 7. 

Here it was that the clouds of God's displeasure 
against his sins began to gather thick over his head, 
and to threaten a fatal discharge on him. The water 
spouts were felt, and justice spoke in them, demand- 



A SAINT. 5 

ing perfect obedience, or infinite punishment. This 
made him try to hasten his escape from the stormy 
-wind and tempest. Blessed be God, who revealed 
his crucified son to him, when under the cloud of im- 
pending judgment, whose blood, from the becalmed 
conscience of my royal master, met \v r ith the appro- 
bation and favour even of divine justice itself. 

Well might the evangelical prophet say, and "a 
man shall be an hiding-place from the storm, a co- 
vert from the tempest, a river of water in a dry 
place, and the shadow of a great rock in this weary 
land. 1 ' The Lord God of Israel did not reveal his 
dear son to my valuable master with a drawn sword, 
as he did to Balaam, who said he should see him, 
but not now, and behold him, but not nigh ; but he 
accompanied the vision with an appropriating faith. 
To See a Saviour and a Judge in one person, with- 
out faith in his salvation, is of all sights the most af- 
flicting, and would sink a soul forever. " I had ut- 
terly fainted, unless I had believed, to see the good- 
ness of the Lord in the land of the living." — Psalm 
xxvii. 13. 

Cushi now descended the Hill Mizar, which led 
with a gradual descent into a verdant valley. Here 
he was blessed with a most ravishing view of the co- 
venant of promise, which afforded matter of pleasing 
and delightful meditation, and every fresh discovery 
gave him fresh entertainment, which caused his soui 
to sink down into the sweetest rest and quietude, 
while the glorious beams of light and love shone 
with divine radiance upon his whole soul. 

In this light, he saw a little river, run through the 
midst of the vale, which his thoughts led him to trace 
to the fountain head ; and he found it to be (what his 
royal master called) the " still w r aters," Psalm, xxiii. 
2, which came from the father to the son, and through 
the son to us. 



A 2 



THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER ; 

These waters forcibly reveal the father's love, apd 
the son's salvation, and sanctify and make mete 
souls for heaven, without whose aid no promise 
comes with power, nor does the word quicken or re- 
fresh the soul. 

Poor Cushi, finding the good work, formerly be- 
gun, to be revived, and restoring grace so sweetly to 
operate on his soul, he was afraid to engage again in 
state affairs, or in any other lawful calling, fearing a 
second relapse ; which holy fear certainly was good. 
But as God does not light a candle to put it under a 
bushel, nor under a bed, that it should be hid, but on 
a candlestick, that it may give light to all that are in 
the house, it is necessary to let it shine before men, 
that they may see the light within, while it reflects 
its holy rays without. To be diligent in business, 
and fervent in spirit, is a command given to every 
Christian, and what the most eminent saints have 
been brought to submit to, from Abel, the first mar- 
tyr, to Amos, the prophet, and even from Jesus 
Christ, to Paul, the tent-maker. 

However, it was with much reluctance that Cushi 
left his lodgings and the verdant meadow. But so 
conspicuous a proof of the faithfulness of his Lord, 
made him depart with this persuasion and confession, 
*'the Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He 
maketh me to lie down in green pastures ; he leadeth 
xne beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul ; 
he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his 
name's sake." — Psalm xxiii. 2, 3. 

Cushi now rose up and travelled off, most sweetly 
refreshed, and he intended to walk quite through the 
verdant valley, but he had not got far, before a bright 
cloud appeared in sight, and he expected a. shower : 
and when it came over his head, he felt a most pleas- . 
mg sensation on his spirit, wonderful motions in his 
mind, and a particular flow of affections, which for a 
white made him stand as one entranced; and he 



OR, SATAN'S LAW-SUTtf WITH A 6AINT. 7 

supposed he saw a real cloud. But this text occurred 
to his mind : " In the light of the King's counte- 
nance is life ; and his favour is as a cloud of the lat- 
ter rain." — Prov. xvi. 15. And so he found it, for 
the thoughts of God in the promises dropt in such 
an abundant manner on him, that his cup overflowed, 
till he vented it in confession, adoration, thankfulness 
and praise. " The words of a man's mouth are as 
deep waters, and the well-spring of wisdom as a 
flowing brook."—- Prov. xviiu 4. Cushi, finding 
such divine light and understanding crowd in upon 
him, sadly wanted to minute down what he saw and 
felt : but his mind was so taken up, that all efforts 
to begin a diary proved vain ; he had no thoughts at 
command for that ; he was therefore forced to breathe 
out the overflowing of his joys to the fountain of 
life, from whence they came. 

The church, when thus filled, is a fountain sealed, 
until the seal opens, and lets it forth. " A garden 
inclosed is my sister, my spouse, a spring shut up, a 
fountain sealed." — Song iv. 12. But when the spi- 
rit opens the heart, it plays all its streams into the 
fountain of divine fullness, from whence the streams 
came. 

Thus the Lord " drinks his own wine with his own 
iiiilk, and eats his own honey-comb with his own ho- 
ney." — Song v. 1. Or, to speak in express terms, 
he is entertained with the fervent devotions produced 
by his own spirit. Thus God the father, and God 
the son, are glorified in the gracious soul by God the 
Holy Ghost. God is a spirit, and will be worshipped 
by his own spirit in us ; and as a God of truth, he 
will be worshipped in truth; not as an object repre- 
sented in a false lights nor with a false heart. 

Cushi's devotions were truly divine, for he broke 
forth into th~e following expression of sympathy and 
gratitude to this much-slighted and long- neglected 
Lord, O thou source of all divine happiness, and 



8 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER ; 

Fountain of light and life, who hath promised to the 
parched and barren souls of thine elect, both the for* 
mer and the latter rain moderately in their season ; 
I received thy blessed word at first with the dew of 
thy special grace to give it root; but, alas ! wordly 
mindedness soon caused my joys to wither ; but thou 
hast revisited my barren heart, and made the parched 
ground a pool, and the thirsty land springs of "water. 
Astonishing, that an heart, one * the "habitation of 
dragons, should be turned into a springing well." — 
Isau xxxv. 7. " O that I never may be left to wan- 
der from thy shadow again, nor to slight the sanc- 
tuary service of my God. Blessed are they that 
dwell in thy house ; they will be still praising thee ; 
blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in 
whose heart are the ways of them, who, passing 
through the valley of Baca, make it a well ; the rain 
also filleth the pools." — Psa. Ixxxiv. 5, 6. 

Cusrii had now almost crossed the valley of Baca, 
and suddenly he espied an hill before him with a 
gradual ascent, and he shortly began to ascend it; 
and the higher he went, the greater his joys were ; 
till at last he vented the fulness of his soul in praise 
and acclamations of joy, saying, " Oh my God, as 
the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden 
causeth the things that are sown in it to spring 
forth, so the Lord God doth cause righteousness 
and praise to spring forth in my once barren, but 
now revived heart."-— Isa. Ixi. 11. 

Cushi having gained the summit of the hill, saw 
a fine spreading tree, and under it a seat, with a man 
sitting thereon, who had a book in his hand. 

The reader being pensive in thought, did not dis- 
cern the approach of Cushi. Cushi perceiving this, 
approached as near as he could without disturbing 
the attention of the reader, and stood still to hear 
him read. The passage that he was reading was v 
u ajid Abraham called the name of that place Jeho- 



or, satan's law-suit with a saint. 9 

vah Jireh ; as it is said to this day, in the mount of 
the Lord it shall be seen." — Gen. xxii. 14. 

Cushi said unto him, understaadest thou what 
thou readest ? The good man started up in surprize, 
and said, How can I, except some man should guide 
me ; and he desired Cushi to sit down with him. I 
am glad, said Cushi, to find thee blessed with a sense 
of thy native ignorance, and endowed with a teacha- 
ble spirit. Pride will not submit to learn of those 
whom God hath taught. I think a teachable spirit 
is one of the characteristics of a child of grace. — 
The Jewish Pharisees, who were wise in their own 
eyes, and prudent in their own sight, refused the tui- 
tion of God the Saviour, " became vain in their ima- 
ginations, and their foolish hearts were darkened ; 
professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.' , 
God has determined to destroy all grounds of boast- 
ing, and to stain the pride of all human glory. — 
Hence it is, that the Prophet Isaiah foretold that 
God would take away all trust in " the mighty man, 
aud the man of war ; the judge, and the prophet ; 
and the prudent, and the ancient; the captain of 
fifty ; and the honourable man ; and the counsellor, 
and the cunning artificer ; and the eloquent orator ; 
and that he would give children to be their princes, 
and babes should rule over them" — Isa. iii. 2, 3, 4, 5. 
Men of great natural or acquired parts, can never 
submit, without humbling grace, to 3 T ield obedience 
to (what one calls) the foolishness of the cross. 

However, the Prophet says, " whom shall Gcd 
teach knowledge ? And whom shall he make to un- 
derstand doctrine ? Them that are weaned from the 
milk, and drawn from the breasts ; for precept must 
be upon precept ; precept upon precept ; line upon 
line ; line upon line ; here a little, and there a little.' 5 
Isaiah xxviii. 9, 10. This is an humbling declara- 
tion for " a counsellor, an astrologer, a star-gazer, 
pr a monthly prognosticator, to regard.". — Isa. xlviu 



lO THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER ; 

13. But as Paul says, " if any man will be wise? 
let him become a fool, that he may be wise." 

But to give my dear brother an account of this 
mountain, on which we sit: I believe it to be Mount 
Moriah, which, perhaps, may signify the Lord re- 
vealing. If it does, it shows how those souls are 
exalted, whom the Lord condescendeth to teach, to 
whom he reveals his mind and will, though it be at- 
tended with bitterness, which may be included in the 
word Moriah. Mount Calvary you see, is almost 
opposite, where our Lord was crucified; and he 
whom God teacheth on Mount Moriah, is sure to 
have some views of what was done on Mount Cal- 
vary. " The mountains shall bring peace to the 
people, and the little hills by righteousness. — Psalm 
Ixxii, 3. The grand design of divine teaching is, 
first, that we may know God in his law to be an holy, 
just God ; and secondly, that we may know him re- 
conciled in his son ; as a God reconciled to sinners. 
The gospel reveals him, " And this is life eternal, to 
know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom he 
hath sent." Hence the gospel is called the word of 
reconciliation. 

Ahimaaz. If this is Mount Moriah, it is the 
very spot where God gave testimony to Abraham's 
faith, even from Heaven ; and to be sure he must 
ascend this Mount with as heavy an heart as a mor- 
tal could carry. But God often lays the greatest 
burden on the faith of his favourites, just before he 
intends a deliverance. As speaketh the Lord by 
Moses, that he will appear " when he seeth that his 
people's power is gone, that there is none shut up or 
left."- — Dent, xxxiu 36. And such conspicuous de- 
liverances have a blessed tendency to endear God to 
his people, and excite their love and gratitude ; and 
I doubt not but this was the case with Abraham. 
The thoughts of slaying his beloved son must goneav 
hrs heart, and the simple expressions pf Isaac, when 



OR, SATAN'S LAW-SUIT WITH A SAINT. 11 

he said, xvhere is the lamb for the burnt offering, 
must touch Abraham's feelings very sensibly. But 
when he received his little one back to his arms, and 
obtained an articulate testimony of the love and ap- 
probation of his Maker, it must lift him as high in 
joy and heavenly-mindedness, as the thoughts of 
slaying him had sunk him in sorrow. 

Cushi. I am glad to find thee, my brother, such 
an observer of the gracious dealing of God. If be- 
lievers were to observe the various frames, changes, 
and deliverances that pass on their souls, and bring 
them to the word of God, they would be more com- 
fortably established in the truth than they are. 

Many gracious souls are strict observers of ex- 
ternal forms and modes of worship, to which they 
are led by the wisdom of men, and prejudiced in fa- 
vour of, by the bigotry of men, instead of adhering 
to an experience on their own souls. Let every man 
prove his own work, saith Paul, then shall he have 
rejoicing in himself, and not in another ; that is, he 
shall rejoice in the power of God, not in the wisdom 
of men. 

I believe Abraham had the sweetest views and 
sensations on this Mount, that ever he had'in all his 
pilgrimage. His son Isaac was a sweet type of Christ, 
the promised seed in whom all nations were to be 
blessed. The wood that Abraham laid in such par- 
ticular order, prefigured the cross. The intended 
victim laid on the wood, represented the blessed Je- 
sus, the meek and passive lamb, submitting to be 
nailed to the accursed tree. Abraham's knife sha- 
dowed forth the flaming sword of justice, once seen 
by our first parents at the east gate of Eden* By 
Abraham's parental love and afFection for his son, 
the immutable love of God was exhibited, who so 
loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, 
John iii. 16, freely offering him up for us all. A- 
oarham's joyful reception of his son (as it were from 



12 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER; 

the dead) typified the cordial reception of Christ 
into the bosom of God the father. As Isaac pre- 
figured Christ as a lamb, and as the promised seed 
that should come, so the ram prefigured Christ as 
the everlasting father of all his sheep. 

The horns of the ram represented Christ's kingly 
power; his being hung by the hams in the thicket 
of bushes, shewed the submission of the Omnipo- 
tent Saviour to the wicked hands of men, who are 
compared to briers and thorns. Cane, ii. 2. Thorns 
being badges of God's curse, shewed his being 
made a curse for us ; and that he was to be crowned 
with thorns, was typified by the ram's being hung 
in the thorns by his head. Thus Abraham's faith 
saw the Saviour, both in his beloved son, and in the 
bleeding and burning ram ; and to this agrees the 
Lord himself : " Your father Abraham rejoiced to 
see my day ; and he saw it and was glad."— John 
viii. 56. 

Ahimaaz. It is a pretty light, my brother, that 
you have cast on that text ; and the proof that you 
brought from the Saviour's mouth, is a confirmation 
of what you have said. But some of the learned 
tell us, that we should be very careful how we al- 
legorize and spiritualize the scriptures, lest we get 
into the regions of fancy. Though I do believe 
there are many in our days who are stigmatized en- 
thusiasts and fanatics, who are blessed with divine 
tuition, and wonderfully supported by the Holy 
Ghost ; there is no limiting God, nor drawing lines 
for him to work by ; and I believe the heart that 
feels the keenest pierce from justice, is the most 
sensible of the balm of mercy. Where conviction 
draws the deepest furrow, the incorruptible seed will 
take the deepest root. 

Such souls as experience the greatest change, have 
generally the brightest views of divine revelation. 
The darkest clouds are often succeeded by the bright- 



©R, SATANS LAW-SUIT WITH A SAINT. 13 

est manifestations. u God discovered* deep things 
out of darkness, and bringeth out to light the shadow 
of death. — Job xii. 22. And such souls will ever be 
found to be the most spiritually minded, and the 
most heavenly in their conversation. 

Cushi. I have heard of men giving such cautions, 
and of warning people against allegorizing the word 
of God, or giving it a spiritual meaning ; when I 
have thought that too many legalize the gospel, and 
make it more like a law than a covenant of grace ; 
and make the Saviour more a law-giver, than a law- 
fulfiller, by talking more of the commands of Christ, 
than of the infinite satisfaction made to law and jus- 
tice by him. 

This is a kind of remedial law, as some term it ; 
such being ignorant of the killing power of the co- 
venant of works ; and strangers to the constraining' 
power of the covenant of grace, have set up one of 
their own, in the very throne of the great Mediator, 
as a rival to him, who is the end of the law, and the 
author of faith. 

What good can accrue to sinners, from a law of 
human invention, set up in the place of the Media- 
tor, is hard to tell. Israel would have been consum- 
ed by the fire of God's jealousy, more than once, if 
Moses, the typical mediator, and Phineas, the typi- 
cal high priest, had not stood in the gap, or breach, 
that their rebellion had made between God and 
them. But how a gospel la u) of human manufactory 
is to fill a breach of infinite dimensions, and bring 
about a spiritual union and likeness, where there is 
an infinite disproportion, is a mystery that I despair 
of ever finding out ; and a mystery that all the di- 
vines in the world can never explain to me. 

But this conclusion we may warrantably draw, 
that if Noah, Daniel, and Job, could not stand be- 
fore God, to make up the breach, we are sure no 
contrivance of man can do it. Besides, this law of 
B 



14 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER; 

human wisdom lays no weight upon him that is 
mighty to save ; but the whole burden of conditions 
is laid on them that are dead to God, and without 
strength ; and how the dead in sin are to perform 
such conditions, is another riddle which can never 
be explained. 

The spouse, under the old economy, received 
many consolations from the types and shadows, while 
she eyed her beloved Saviour as the object of her 
fucure hopes ; she calls the two covenants her two 
breasts, and eyed the Mediator as the end of the law, 
and the author of faith, and had light enough under 
that dark dispensation, to see that no day's man was 
fit to make up the breach, but him. Feeling his 
love, she says, " A bundle of myrrh is my well-be- 
loved unto me ; he shall lie all night betwixt my 
breasts." — Song. i. 13. Her faith viewing him as 
the fulfiller of the law, and the glory of the gospel, 
she rests satisfied w^ith the sanctuary service, until 
the blessed period should arrive, when her beloved 
Lord should be revealed. u Until the day-break, 
and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the 
mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankin- 
cense. — Song. iv. 6. 

As for the caution against allegorizing and spiri- 
tualizing the word of God, I see the Saviour and 
his apostles perpetually at it. 

Solomon's preference given to the lowly mind, in 
the presence of the prince, Prov. xxv. 7, is brought 
in by the Saviour as a check to the pride of pha- 
risees, in their choice of the highest seats, and is 
intended to shew, how he differs from the humbled 
believer, who, like the prodigal Son, begins his re- 
ligion with a sense of the plague of his own heart, 
and a keen hunger for the bread of Heaven, before 
he sits down t® feast on the fatted calf.- — Luke xv. 

Elihu's comparing his heart, filled with divine 
inspiration^ to a bottle that had no vent, Job. xxxii. 



OR, SATAN S LAW-SUIT WITH A SAINT. 15 

19, is brought in by the Saviour to shew the necessity 
of a new heart, and a new spirit ; but new wine 
st be put into new bottles, and both are preserved 
Matt. ix. 17. 

Job's description of the eagle, Job xxxix. 30, is 
introduced by the Lord to shew the destruction of 
Jerusalem under the Koman eagle ; but much more 
to shew the entertainment ol heavenly minds, who 
by faith jet d on his own [flesh and blood, as their 
spiritual meat and, Ar ink, John vi. 53 ;- and sweetly 
prefigures the certain protection of the elect beneath 
the shadow of his wings in the great and terrible 
day. 

The two mountains mentioned by Moses, Gerizim 
and Ebal, Deut. xxvii. 12, are an allegory. Mount 
Gerezim, where the blessings were to be pronounc- 
ed, prefigured the Church of Christ, on which the 
Spirit of God pronounces the benediction, and was 
a figure of Mount Zzon ; for there the Lord com- 
manded the blessing, even life for evermore. Psalm 
exxxiii. 3. 

Mount Ebal, from which the curses were to be 
pronounced, prefigured Mount Sinat, where the law 
and its curse were given, and is Hagar in the alle- 
gory, and agreeth zvith Jerusalem that now is, and 
is in bondage with her children, Gal. iv. 24, 25, and 
reaches to every work -monger in the whole world,—* 
for as many as are of the rvcrks of the law are under 
the curse, Gal. iii. 10 ; and so it will appear in the 
great day, when the Judge will say to Zion (on 
which himself was crowned King), Come, ye blessed 
of my father ;> — and to Hagar, and her bend chil- 
dren (who rejected his reign), Go, ye cursed ; these 
two will appear to be mount Gerizim and mount E- 
bal with a witness ; and there the blessing and the 
curse will remain to all eternity. 

Ahimaaz. The things which you have menti- 
oned, my brother, are consistent with the analogy of 



16 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER J 

faith, and your method is well calculated to bring the 
word of God down to a holy familiarity with the 
weakest believer ; which certainly is a method that 
every man of God ought to adopt, or aim at, more 
than shewing his human learning, or knowledge of 
the languages ; for Paul says, " he would sooner 
speak five words to the edification of the church, 
than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue. — 
1 Cor. xiv. 19, For as he observes, an unintelligi- 
ble teacher is a barbarian to the people, which made 
the Apostle determine to use great plainness of 
speech.~—2 Cor. iii. 12. And to be sure I have of- 
ten felt the binding effects of legalizing the gospel 
myself, since I set out in the paths of wisdom ; and 
have been entangled more than once by their legal 
ministry.- — Gal. v. 1. 

But as for you, my brother, you have certainly 
great natural parts, a very strong memory, and have 
been studious in the scriptures ; this is plain, for 
you appear a ready scribe, well instructed in the 
law. 

Cushi. I believe men of the greatest natural parts 
in all the world, are at this time either deists or athe- 
ists. The greatest scholars are in the greatest con* 
fusion— the most studious men are the most ignorant 
of God — and those of the strongest memory are the 
most freighted with the rubbish of heathenism. The 
greatest natural logician is the farthest from the ba- 
sis of sound reason ; and he that is wisest in his 
own conceit, is the greatest enemy to the wisdom of 
God. 

Natural abilities are the gift of God ; and if they 
are not influenced by the Holy Ghost, they are al- 
ways turned against the giver. But the spiritual 
man will own with Paul, that if a man be wise in 
divine mysteries, the word of wisdom is given him. 
If discerning, it is in divine light that he sees light* 
If stable in confidence, the word of faith is given 



OR, SATAN'S LAW-SUIT WITH A SAINT. 17 

him. If divinely knowing, the word of knowledge 
is given him. If strong in memory, it is the Spirit 
that brings all thing's to his remembrance, whatsoever 
the Lord hath said unto him. All these things' wcrk- 
eth that one, and the self-same spirit, dividing his 
gifts severally as he will. 1 Cor. xii. 11. God will 
never give the glory of his grace to men's brains, 
nor his praise to graven images. Isa. xlii. S. 

Ahimaaz. True, my brother; "every good and 
every perfect gift cometh down from the Father of 
Lights, with whom is no variableness, or shadow of 
turning." James i. 17. And every gracious man 
will acknowledge this to the honour of the great be- 
nefactor ; for, as the prophet says, " let not the wise 
man glory in his wisdom, nor the mighty man in his 
might ; nor the rich man in his riehes. But let him 
that glorieth, glory in this, that he understandeth 
and kaoweth me ; that I am the Lord, which exer- 
cise loving kindness, judgment and righteousness in 
the earth; for in these things I delight, saith the 
Lord." Jer. ix. 24. And indeed I have always 
found the most pure liberty, the greatest love, and 
the greatest encouragement to confidence m God, 
ministered to my soul from such pure and evangeli- 
cal conversation as yours. But I would wish to be 
led by the voice of my teachers, and so to steer be- 
tween the two extremes. For my part, I am for 
the middle way. 

Cushi. I do not rightly understand thee, my 
brother. If by way, you mean the way to God, the 
middle way is one of your own devising. There 
are but two ways to Heaven that God has devised ; 
the one is by perfect, spiritual, and perpetual obedi- 
ence, agreeable to the command. He that doth these 
things, even he shall live in the???. If thou wilt enter 
into life, keep the cornmandments. The other way 
is ? by fauh in Christ, which Paul calls " the new and 

B2 



18 THE JUSTIFICATION 0* A SINNER : 

living* way which God the Saviour hath consecrated 
through the veil ; that is to say? his flesh." Heb. x. 20* 

These are the only two ways that lead to life, that 
are opened in the scriptures ; therefore, he that de- 
vises a middle way, is in reality a despiser of both* 
If a man will enter into life by works, his righteous- 
ness must be a perfect conformity to the law. This 
must be his legal righteousness ; and if perfect, it 
gives him a legal right. The gospel righteousness 
is one ready wrought out by the surety, and received 
b faith, both which must be brought from the law. 

The pharisee, he sticks to the old covenant, and 
trusts in his own merit, being too proud to beg. 
The sensible sinner, he is humbled to receive the 
wedding garment, as the gift of God. The way to 
God, by faith in Christ, Paul calls the new and living 
Tvai/, to show that the other is both dead and old ; 
and indeed, it is a way that none but the Saviour 
ever went to God in. 

The flaming sword has cut off all that ever at- 
tempted to touch the tree of life in that way. By 
the deeds of*the laxv shall no flesh living be justified. 
Therefore the middle way that my brother speaks 
of, is a way that was never cast up by any of the 
servants of God. The law says to all that are under 
the law, there is none righteous, no not one. God 
will never meet any sinner (as a reconciled God) in 
that way ; " He meeteth none but those that rejoice ? 
and work righteousness, and those that remember 
him in his way." Isaiah, Ixiv. 5. 

Never attempt an entrance where God has never 
opened a door; the end of such, according to Peter r 
will be worse than their beginning ; for, as he says r 
it had been better for them not ta have known the 
{ right way at all. The father dwelleth in me, and I 
in him, says Christ, and Christ crucified is the only 
way to the father. J am the way, the truth, and 
'■•the life i no man cometh to the father, but by me. 



OR, SATAN'S LAW-SUIT WITH A SAINT* 19 

The prophets and apostles laboured hard to clear 
and cast up this highway ; and those that God guides 
into it, are to say, u cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare 
the way, take up the stumbling blocks out of the 
way of my people," — Isaiah, Ivii. 14, 62, 10. 

As thou hast received Christ Jesus the Lord, so 
walk ye in him, and never aim at a middle path.— 
God complains of this, and says, u my people have 
forgotten me ; they have burned incense to vanity ; 
and they have caused them to stumble in their ways 
from the ancient paths, to walk in paths in a way not 
cast up, — jfer, xviiu 15. 

Ahimaaz. You seem to be quite an original; 
that is, you are for the pure old apostolic religion, 
and for a perseverance in spiritual worship, in the 
naked simplicity 'and truth of the gospel; which is 
certainly right, and I believe that the main current of 
scripture runs in your channel. Those who watch 
the Spirit's teaching, and compare it with the word 
of God," and who find the approbation of God with 
them, and the testimony of a good conscience, cer- 
tainly walk the safest, and will find the most sensible 
support from the Almighty in a trying hour. 

Your conversation is very spiritual and very en- 
tertaining to me. It brings a deal of my past ex- 
perience fresh to my mind ; and, for my part, I know 
not when I have met with so agreeable a companion, 
nor when I have spent so comfortable an hour. 

Cushi. It is to be lamented that there appears so 
little spiritual conversation among professing people. 
Heavenly conversation, cheerfully delivered, keeps 
the word of God alive in one's heart. It causes it 
to dwell richly there, in all utterance, in all know- 
ledge, and spiritual understanding. It stirs up the 
gift of God that is in a man; and the more such an 
one scattereth the truth, the more he encreiiseth his 
stock. — Prov. xl 24. So that the Speaker is edi- 
fied* as well as the hearer; for ? as Solomon says 7 



20 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A DINNER ; 

" he that watereth, shall be wartered also himself." 
Prov. xi. 25. 

Ahimaaz. True, my brother; but all the chil- 
dren of God have not that experience and judgment 
that you seem to be favoured with. There are 
many hoping souls that cannot find word^to express 
a reason of their hope. They are bashful, timo- 
rous, and perplexed with many doubts and fears ; 
and they are fearful of speaking wrong, or laying a 
presumptuous claim to that which they have no right 
to, as the tempter often suggests. 

Besides, there are many professors who have 
more head-knowledge than heart-felt experience, 
and these often criticise and contradi t the simple 
lispings of a babe in grace ; and when they have 
been served so a fv.w times, they are like parrots, 
you cannot make them talk again. 

Cushi. That is what I never liked. I have often 
heard strange muddy language from a young Chris- 
tian ; but I never chose to stop h's mouth if I found 
but the least favour with it; for although the great / 
is brought in at every sentence, as the chief agent, 
yet after they have had a few falls, I liave observed 
that the great pronoun has beem left quite out of the 
question, except it has appeared in its proper place, 
in declaring what evil they have done, or what free 
grace has done for them. In this God fulfils his 
promise, " by turning to the people a pure language." 
Zeph. Hi. 9. Poor P^ter lost the great I'm Satan's 
sieve, and so do others ; but as for criticizing their 
wrrds, and contradicting of them, it is very wrong. 
When weak believers have been served so, they will 
act with their tongues, as a voung child does with its 
feet; after they have deceived it once or twice, it 
will hang about the mother, and you cannoc make it 
venture upon them again. 

For my part, I am very fond of having a weak be- 
liever in company. He, and the poor sensible sipner,. 



a 



or, satan's law-suit with a saint, 21 

the diligent seeker, and the earnest enquirer, are the 
people that the old Christian finds the greatest liberty 
with, as may be seen in Ezekiel's ministry. He 
stands dumb before a carnal multitude of lifeless 
professors, without a word to say, u I will make 
thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou 
shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a reprover." 
Ezek. Hi. 26. 

But to the young believer, who had fled to the 
God of Israel for refuge, his tongue was loosed* 
In that day shall thy mouth be opened to him 
which is escaped, and thou shalt speak and be no 
more dumb." — Ezek. xxiv. 27. 

Our great apostle boasted of this. " O ye Co- 
rinthians, our mouth is opened unto you— our heart 
is enlarged." — 2 Cor. vi. 11. But in Rome he 
found his spirit chained, and his tongue fettered ; 
and therefore he solicits an interest in u the Ephe- 
sians prayers for him, that utterance might be given 
him — that he might open his mouth boldly to make 
known the mystery of the gospel, for which he was 
an ambassador in bonds, that therein he might speak 
boldly as he ought to speak."— Eph. vi. 19, 20. 

Ahlmaaz. It is true, my brother; we generally 
find young believers the most thirsty after divine 
knowledge, and the most attentive to the lips of wis- 
dom ; and as the prophet says, u the priests lips 
should preserve knowledge, that enquiring souls 
?7iay seek the law at his mouth" — Malachi, ii. T* 
Yet you know they are not capable of holding up an 
argument, or carrying on spiritual conversation, 
which is the point that you are insisting upon. 

Cushi. I would sooner be in company with a 
" young and a wise child, than with an old and fool- 
ish King, who will no more be admonished." — EccU 
iv. 13. Our Saviour's company consisted altogether 
of such weaklings ; and one half of the parables left 
upon record, were drawn from the mouth of the Sa- 



22 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER ; 

viour by simple enquiry. By their asking him ques- 
tions, they " drew water with joy out of that well of 
salvation." — Isa. xii. 3. 

And J. wish there was a little more of this in prac- 
tice m our days. Many young Christians would be 
useful to old ones, by stirring up the well-spring of 
life in them; and would, at the same time, find their 
own bowels refreshed by the spiritual counsel, ad- 
vice, or instructions which themselves might draw. 
The established Christian that has drunk into the 
Saviours spirit, has a divine spring within him, 
which is often low for want of thirsty babes to draw 
it out. The Lord has promised, u that whatsoever 
cometh unto him, and drinks, as the scripture hath 
said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living wa- 
ter ; if the weak believer would grow, let him 
draw." — John vii. 37, 38. 

And on the other hand, an experienced minister, 
by being in company with young believers, and ob- 
serving their questions and answers, gets a more sa- 
tisfactory reason of the hope that is in them, than he 
can get at an appointed church meeting, for which 
they have prepared themselves by premeditation ; 
and are often abashed and confounded by an au- 
dience. 

Ahimaaz. It is a great blessing to 3, young 
Christian to have an experienced pastor to attend 
on in his doubtful state ; for the impressions of 
God's laws on a sinner's heart, are as difficult to read 
as the hand- writing on the wall of JBeishazzar's pa- 
lace. u The king trembled when he saw the fingers 
that wrote" — Dan. v. 5. And we tremble no less 
when we feel the " hand-writing* that is against ns." 
Col. ii. 14. And he that becomes an interpreter , as 
Elihu rvas to Job, must have the spirit of God in 
him ; for " ^tis the inspiration of the Almighty that 
mast give him understanding"* — Job xxxii. 8* 



or, satan's law-suit with a saint. 23 

The queen of Babylon saw the need of this, when 
she perceived the emptiness and ignorance of the 
astrologers and Chaldeans. u There is a man, said 
she, in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the 
Holy Gods^ [implying that the spirit of unholy de- 
vils was in the others], and in the days of thy father 
light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom 
of the Gods, was found in him; whom the King, 
Nebuchadnezzar, thy father, the* King, I say, thy 
father, made master of the magicians, astrologers, 
Chaldeans, and soothsayers ; for as much as an ex ■ 
cellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, 
interpreting of dreams, and shewing of hard senten- 
ces ; and dissolving of doubts were found in the 
same Daniel, whom the King named JBelshazzar. 
Now let Daniel be called, and he will show the in- 
terpretation." — Dan. v+ 11, 12. 

This woman has drawn a most excellent portrait 
of a minister of the spirit ; and as she found the 
need of such a spirit in her husband's confusion, so 
many foolish virgins, who now call inspiration enthu- 
siasm, will, in the great and terrible day of the Lord, 
call for the same inspiration ; give us of your oil^ 
for our lamps are gone out* Solomon calls the 
divine impressions of God's laws, made by the spirit 
of God, deep waters. 

Cushi* Yea, and when these deep waters are 
stirred by a spiritual conversation, they will spring 
up and influence both the affections and the tongue 
of the speaker as they rise. "Counsel in the heart 
of man is like deep water ; but a man of -understan- 
ding will draw it out."— Prov. xx. 5. And as these 
waters are drawn forth, so they refresh, strengthen, 
purify, and comfort others that hear the conversa- 
tion ; as speaketh the wise man : " The words of a 
man's mouth are as deep waters ; and the well-spring 
of wisdom as a flowing brook." — Prov. xvtiu 4. — 
An experimental believer has always something to 



24 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER ; 

say when young Christians ask him questions ; for 
u the heart of the wise teacheth his mouth, and ad- 
deth learning to his lips." — Prov. xvu 23. 

Ahimaaz. Indeed, my brother, I feel the blessed 
effects of what you assert on my own spirit, for I 
find my understanding much enlightened into the 
word of God, my heart is enlarged, my affections 
are warmed, my bowels are refreshed, and my judg- 
ment much established. For my part, I never met 
with so precious a companion before. Such conver- 
sation leaves no guilt on the conscience ; it does not 
send one home with a secret sting, as has too often 
been the case with me, when I have left a company 
that had nothing to discourse about but wordly mat- 
ters. I have felt the wretched effects of it after- 
wards in my closet, when I have come to face God 
in prayer ; while on the other hand, divine converse 
furnishes the mind with a suitable frame for prayer 
and praise ; and I think this is Solomon's meaning 
when he says, " A man shall be satisfied with good 
by the fruit of his mouth."— Prov. xi?\ 14. But 
what would some think of this conversation of ours. 
It believe it would appear mere nonsense to many of 
our learned Masters of Arts. 

Cushi. As for Master of Arts, it appears to me 
an arrogant title* Professor of Arts would sound 
much better ; for there is a nrystery in every art 
that has puzzled the best of them, and ever will. 
Known unto God are all his works from the beginning. 
He is the grand master of all ; and in the strictest 
sense there is no other ; because there are so many 
mysteries in every art that they are not masters of. 
Hence I have often thought that A. 3L and M. A. 
have stood for two lies. The best art is divinity ; 
and I believe this is one of the last that many young 
students are put to the study of. They must be filled 
with heathenism first; and if God calls them by 
grace, their heathen stock serves for fuel 5 into which 



OR, SATAN S LAW-SUIT WITH A SAINT. 25 

the devil often throws his darts, by tempting them to 
Atheism and Deism. The man that knows God, 
and himself, is the happiest, the wisest, the most 
useful, and always will appear the brightest charac- 
ter in the world : For it is said that the King of Ba- 
bylon communed with such, " and among them all 
was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Michael, and 
Azariah ; therefore stood they before the King : And 
in all matters of wisdom and understanding that the 
King required of them, he found them ten times 
better than all the magicians and astrologers that 
were in all his realm." — Dan. it. 19, 20. 

The best botanist in the world is that man that can 
give the most saving description of the tree of life, 
that blessed plant of renown.* — Ezek. xxxiv. 29. 
Job tells you the root of it was found in him — Job* 
xix. 21. Paul says, the wild Gentiles were grafted 
into it, and partook of its fatness. — Rom. xi. 19. 
John says, the leaves of it are for the healing of the 
nations ;— compare Rev. xxii. 2, with Isaiah liii. 5. 
Ezekiel tells us, " the fruit thereof shall be for meat, 
and the leaf thereof for medicine,". — Ezek. xlvii. 12 ; 
and the spouse tells us its branches are for a shadow. 
Song ii. 3. The Lord favour you and me with an 
heart-felt union with this tree, then shall our leaf 
never wither, nor shall we cease from yielding fruit: 
K He that abideth in me and I in him, the same bring- 
eth forth much fruit; — for without me ye can do 
nothing." 

Indeed the Christian has something to do with 
various arts. He is an astronomer when he has 
found out the bright and morning star, Rev. xxii. 16, 
and sensibly felt it rise in his heart, 2 Pet. 1. 19. — 
This blessed light is succeeded by the heat of the 
Sun of Righteousness shining on the soul vjith heal- 
ing in his beams, Mai. iv. 2. The best star that ever 
the eastern sages found, was that which led them to 
Bethlehem, where the Star of Jacob lay. Numb. xxiv. 
C 



26 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER ; 

17. We may say the same of all other arts. God 
make us such navigators as shall gain the haven of 
everlasting rest ; and such geographers as shall find 
out the u new heaven and the new earth, wherein 
dwelleth righteousness." Blessed be that philosopher 
that has found the pearl of great price ; and for eyer 
blessed be that anatomist that has crucified and dis- 
sected the old man with his affections and lusts. And 
is not that man the best prognosticate^ that, from 
the testimony of a good conscience^ can say with 
the Psalmist — u he shall guide me with his counsel, 
and receive me into glory;" if so, then I take it for 
granted that he also will be found to be the best 
builder at last, " who has heard the gospel and obeyed 
it; and, like a wise master-builder, has dug deep 
and founded his faith and hope on the Rock of Is- 
rael ; when the rains descend, and the winds blow, 
and the floods come and beat violently upon that 
house, it could not be moved, because it was founded 
upon a rock.'* — Luke vi. 48. All arts and sciences 
besides these, will be of little use in the day of judg- 
ment ; and as they have a tendency to lift graceless 
men up with pride, and to set them above the pure 
and simple word of God, they are not worthy of the 
name of wisdom, as speaketh the prophet : u The 
wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and ta- 
ken : Lo, they have rejected the word of the Lord, 
and what wisdom is there in them?" — Jer. vii. 9. 
God, as the God of nature, hath given many ex- 
cellent gifts and parts to men, though fallen* Beau- 
ty, wit, skill, and wonderful ingenuity, as may be 
seen in the writings of Atheists, Deists, and other 
heathens ; but, without preventing- grace be given, 
they are sure to be exercised to the dishonour of the 
bountiful giver. The greatest part of our university 
education consists in plundering the natural abilities 
of heathens. I have observed men, of acquired 
learning who have discoursed with the sublimity of 



OR, SATAn's LAW-SUIT WITH A SAINT* 27 

a Homer, yet at the same time seemed as destitute 
ef natural and spiritual abilities as Peter the wild 
boy, who was found in the woods of Hanover. Such 
only shine in the natural abilities of others ; and 
their borrowed language, from the native idiot, is as 
distinguishable as the parrot's plumb from the per- 
son's voice which it mimicks; for, as the wise man 
saith, u excellent speech becometh not a fool."- — ■ 
Prov xvii. 7. 

Ahimaaz. To be sure there are no acquirements 
like the pure gifts which flow from God, who is the 
giver of every good and of every perfect gift ; and 
when God gives grace to sanctify a natural gift, then 
it is of great use ; — " a man's gift maketh room for 
him, and bringeth him before great men.". — Prov, 
xviii* And certainly it is a great blessing to the 
church of God, while Christ, the stone of help , Is 
the substance of the gift, and used in the awakening 1 ; 
of sinners, and establishing of saints : " A gift is as 
a precious stone in the eyes of him that hath it ; whi- 
thersoever it turneth it prospereth Prov. xvii. 8* 

And for my part I have read many volumes of learn- 
ed and gracious men's nervous reasonings against er- 
ror, and erroneous men ; such as volumes of ser- 
mons to prove, the being of a God, the authenticity 
of the Scriptures, the reasonableness of the Chris- 
tian religion, &x. which I could never get either es- 
tablishment or comfort from. 

Cushi. The volumes of sermons, and other 
treatises, that have been written to prove the being 
of -a God, have brought many to doubt of such a 
being, where no doubt ever rose before about it, 
And as for proving the authenticity of Scripture by 
scholastic reasoning, it is like lighting of a taper to 
find out the sun when he shines in his meredian. All 
systems of error that have ever been published are 
like Ahatfs harness — there are always joints enough 
left open for the arrow of vengeance; the word < f 



28 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER ; 

God is sufficient to mar every false system however 
compiled, and that God will let them know when he 
sweeps away the refuges of lies. 

The natural propensity of a man to sin against 
the light of nature,— the guilt he is perpetually stung 
with, — the fear of and judgment that he is in bon- 
dage to,— the checks that he feels before the com- 
mission of sin, — the violence that he is obliged to 
offer to his conscience afterwards, — the reflections 
that he often makes,— and the judgments that appear 
abroad in the earth, &c. &c. are quite sufficient, not 
only to prove the existence of God, but the cogni- 
zance that he daily takes both of them and their ac- 
tions. And this is sufficient also to prove the authen- 
ticity of his word ; for there is not a corruption that 
stirs in a man's heart, — not a lascivious thought that 
roves on his mind, — not a crime that he commits,—* 
not a cogitation that he feels,— not a judgment that 
he fears, but what are discovered by a divine ray in 
the secret oracles, and flash many awful convictions 
on the conscience of every transgressor. This shews 
the law written in their heart ; and if an appeal to 
God, to scripture, to conscience, to creation, and to 
the accomplishment of the prophecies, are not suffi- 
cient to convince them, scholastic reasoning will 
hardly do it. The mail that will daringly deny the 
hourly verdict of his thoughts, and* the perpetual 
decision of his own conscience, is more hardened than 
the devil himself; for Satan never denied the con- 
viction that he felt, nor the vengeance he feared, in 
all the outcry that he made in the days of our Lord's 
ministry. There is not an erroneous man in all the 
world but what fulfils some part or other of the 
Scriptures. God has promised to send strong- delu- 
sions that men may believe a lie, and be damned for 
rejecting the truth, and taking pleasure in unrighte- 
ousness ;. therefore I think such desperate sinners 
are not worth the notice of a divine_; "they are sub- 



ok, satan's law-suit with a saint. 29 

verted, and sin, being condemned by their own con- 
science" — Tit. Hi. 11 ; and" to reprove such scorn- 
ers, is to get one's self a blot."— -Prov. ix. T. 

The Almighty, as the God of salvation, can never 
be discovered in his gracious purposes but in his own 
rays ; as saith our blessed apostle, " For God, who 
commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath 
shined into our hearts, to give the light of the know- 
ledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 
2 Cor. iv. 6. 

Ahimaaz. My dear brother, I never felt my 
soul so sweetly entertained and established in my 
life, as I have by your conversation. I have often 
wished to know the mind and will of God in many 
of these particulars which you have mentioned ; 
you are as Elihu was to Job, according 1 to my wish 
in God^s stead, Job xxxiii. 6 ; for I am like the two 
disconsolate disciples when the Saviour overtook 
them, and opened up, explained, and applied the 
Scriptures, till their, hearts burned within them. 
And indeed if you4iad not spoken against the suffi- 
ciency of human learning, I should have thought 
you a professor of the languages, a doctor of di- 
vinity, a master of arts, a critical reviewer, an anti- 
quarian, and a fellow of the royal society. 

Cushi. You may take me just as you please, "I 
prbfess something of the language of Canaan ; and 
I think he is the best doctor that is the most useful 
to souls ; a sound divine is a professor of the best 
art ; the man that knows truth from error is a valu- 
able critic ; he that has made his calling and elec- 
tion sure, is a good antiquarian; and he that is sound 
in faith, is a fellow of that society that is divinely 
and eternally royal. 1 Pet. ii. 9. Rev. v. 10. 

Ahimaaz. I perceive thou art a man of humour, 
as well as a man of grace, and certainly have a com- 
petent measure of natural abilities, as well as a pro- 
found experience ; this I think appears plain to any 
G 2 



£0 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER; 

observer ; and as God has been pleased to send both 
into a ministerial channel, I believe they will appear 
much to his own honour, the good of his people, 
and to the confusion of the enemies of his cause. 

Cushi. What I am, I am by creation and grace ; 
you may discover me better than I can discover my- 
self. But be assured of this, that there never was 
five pounds laid out upon me for human polishing 
since I have been in the world, nor is my deficiency 
in human learning any impediment in the way of 
usefulness. If God the Holy Ghost prepares a 
man's heart, and takes possession of it, he will cre- 
ate the fruit of the lip also, and give that man a 
mouth and wisdom that all his adversaries shall never 
be able to gainsay or resist. And for my part I have 
often thought that human learning has robbed God 
of one half of the glory that is due to him. I have 
read Cavers Lives of the Fathers till my heart has 
heaved at the work, to see how the creature has been 
exalted. The leading account .of every character is 
the piety of their ancestors * 9 just as if grace was 
hereditary : Secondly, their aptness to outstrip all 
others in human learning : Thirdly, their mortify- 
ing their bodies in a cave ; just as if the devil and 
the old man of sin was not to be found in a cave, as 
well as in a city. And as for the Holy Ghost, he is 
hardly mentioned, though there is no such thing as 
mortifying any one deed of the flesh (to good pur- 
pose) but through him, Rom. viii. 13 ; and if grace 
be mentioned in that book, it is slightly touched just 
at the conclusion of a narrative. 

Calamtfs Life of Baxter is just such another rotten 
jumble of human excellency. The Holy Ghost is 
the regenerator, the renewer, and the ornamentor of 
every real Christian \ and if he be not glorified by 
us, we shall surely be debased by him ; " for them 
that honour me I will honour, and they that despise 
me shall be lightly esteemed" — 1 Sam. ii. 30 ; or, as 



<*R, SATAN S LAW-SUIT WIT* A BATNT. 31 

the Saviour says, " he himself shall be 

abased, and he thLt hui«> .self shall be exalt- 

ed." — Matt, xxiii. 13. 

Amihaaz. It is right, certainly, that God in all 
things should be glorified through Jesus Christ. 
But allowances, my brother, must be made : Some 
Christians have been drawn altogether by love, with- 
out any convictions at all ; these, not feeling the 
plague of their hearts, nor the awful arrest of divine 
justice, will remain of a legal tincture, and their lan- 
guage is far from being pure. These are not proper- 
ly evangelized,— they are not brought off from all 
confidence in the flesh, consequently they will not sa- 
vour so sweet of the dear Redeemer, as those who 
have been chaced by the terrors of law and justice 
to embrace him as their only refuge, and lay hold of 
him as the only hope set before them. 

Cushi. God is a free agent, and will work on 
his people as it pleaseth him ; but to be converted 
without repentance,— to be born again without soul- 
travail, — to be forgiven without being convinced we 
have nothing to pay,— -to be healed without feeling 
our sickness,— and to be saved before we find our- 
selves lost, is a mystery to me, and must remain so. 

That God often begins to allure a soul by gospel 
promises I do not deny; but such generally find tra- 
vail, and sickness too, before they arrive at God's 
tabernacle, or dwell on his holy hill. I have observ- 
ed some persons, who have had their sharpest strug- 
gles with law and conscience, even on their death 
beds ; and the very pains of death have hastened the 
pains of their spiritual birth, so that the birth of their 
souls just preceded the death of their bodies ; such 
have gone to glory, full fraught with the cordials of 
divine consolation. This I think agrees with the 
gospel sense of this text : u But when che people of 
the land shall come before the Lord, in the solemn 
feasts,- he that entereth in by the way of the north 



32 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER ', 

gate to worship, shall go out by the way of the south 
gate ; and he that entereth by the way of the south 
gate, shall go forth by the way of the north gate ; 
he shall not return by the way of the gate whereby 
he came in, but shall go forth over against it." — 
Ez. oclvt* 9. And although some, as you observe, 
are very legal, and savour too much of the flesh, yet 
X believe, if they belong to God, that he will permit 
their fleshly confidence so often to deceive them, that 
they will be led to feel after him who makes his 
strength perfect in our weakness ; and as his blessed 
arm is made bare to them, they will be careful to 
speak to; the honour of him whose power they feel ; 
thus he turns to the people a pure language. 

Ahimaaz. I have formerly observed several 
things which you have mentioned ; and while you 
have been speaking they have occurred fresh to my 
mind ; but I have not been so strict an observer of 
the works of God, and of the blessed teachings of 
the Holy Spirit, as you have, which is both my sin 
and my loss ; as speaketh the Psalmist, " Whoso is 
wise and will observe these things, even they shall 
understand the loving kindness of the Lord," Psalm 
fvii. 43 ; and the more the loving kindness of the 
Lord is seen, the more is the faith of a believer in- 
creased and encouraged. And sometimes God per- 
mits an unbeliever to be forcibly struck with real con* 
victions, while he beholds the visible hand of God 
in supporting and bringing his own children out of 
difficulties" — as the Queen of Sheba was struck at 
Solomon's wisdom ; their false hopes give way, and 
their language is like that of the Psalmist, u I had 
fainted unless I had believed to see the goodness of 
the Lord in the land of the living. " Psalm xxvii. 13* 

Cushi. The man that watches the dealings of 
God with him, both in providence and grace, he 
shall find the Lord's promise daily verified, I willy. 
says God, make all my goodness pass before* thee*. 



or, satan's law-suit with a saint. 33 

Such watchful souls shall see many an obstacle re- 
moved, many a precious promise turned up, many 
an intricate providence made straight, many a knot- 
ty experience unriddled, many an enemy entangled 
in his own council, many a hint dropped for faith to 
catch, many a glorious beam to direct his steps, and 
many a sweet drop of divine consolation will be 
poured as an oil on his soul, which will dissolve the 
stubborn heart, and divinely sweeten and soften eve- 
ry unruly faculty : " Thus shall the man be blessed 
that fear eth the Lord, and with favour will he com- 
pass him as with a shield* 

The penitential moan of Adam, as pathetic 
Milton paints it, is worth the notice of every tender 
hearted Christian : 

This most afflicts me, that departing hence, 

As from his face I shall be hid, depriv'd 

His blessed countenance, here I could frequent 

With worship place by place where he vouchsafe 

Presence divine, and to my sons relate, 

On this mount he appear'd, under this tree 

Stood visible, among these pines his voice 

I heard, here with him at this fountain talk'd : 

So many grateful altars I would rear 

Of grassy turf, and pile up every stone 

Of lustre from the brook, in memory, 

Or monument to ages, and thereon 

Offer sweet-smelling gums, and fruits, and flowers. 

In yonder nether world where shall I seek 

His bright appearances, or footsteps trace ? 

For though I fled him angry, yet recall'd 

To life prolong'd and promis'd race, I now 

Gladly behold though but his utmost skirt? 

Of ^]ory, and far off his steps adore. 



34 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER ; 

The answer is as sweet as the other is moving : 
—• Doubt not but in valley and in plain 
God is as here, and will be found alike 
Present, and of his presence many a sign 
Still following thee, still compassing thee around 
With goodness and paternal love, his face 
Express, and of his steps the track divine. 

Ahimaaz. Certainly a man cannot live in the 
fear of God, unless he doth consider himself daily 
in the immediate presence of him ; and to feel his 
supporting hand, to enjoy the testimony of his Spi- 
rit, to find his approbation with one, and his power 
manifested in leading one on, and holding one up in 
the face of all opposition, enables a man to rejoice, 
and say with the Psalmist, the Lord is on my side y 
I will not fear what man can do unto me. And I 
have often thought that God has, and still doth, 
reveal himself by his Spirit to many souls in the 
world who have not the word of God preached to 
them by men ; or in other words, who have not the 
means of grace as we have ; and I have at times 
got comfort from these thoughts with respect to the 
poor heathens. 

Cushi. As I observed before, God is a free a- 
gent ; but I do not desire to be wise above what is 
written. I have read the prophecies of the ten Sybils, 
and certainly there is a deal of truth in them, though 
it be sung with wild notes ; and if they are allowed 
to be prophetesses of the Lord, they are witnesses 
in your favour. But our great Apostle doth not 
countenance you at all. " It is written, saith he., 
that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord 
shall be saved ; how then shall they call on him in 
whom they have not believed ; and how shall they 
believe in him, of whom they have not heard : and 



OR, satan's law-suit with a saint. 35 

how shall they hear without a preacher, and how shall 
they preach except they be sent ?" — Rom. x. 14; and 
Christ says, " JPreach the gospel to every creature, 
and he that believes shall be saved, and he that be- 
lieves not shall be damned," Mark xvi. 16, 17 ; and 
again, " This gospel must be prerxhed in all the 
world for a witness, and then shall the end come"— 
Matt. xxiv. 14. I believe, if you and I were to 
travel throughout the heathen world, where they are 
destitute of the word of God, we should never be 
able to find a soul converted to Christ ; nor do I read 
that Paul found one in all his travels. 

Ahimaaz. I think in some things, thou art ra- 
ther too contracted, my brother; for my part, I 
would wish ever to possess an open and catholic 
spirit. I have .observed many things in thy conver- 
sation that discover an unbecoming narrowness. 
Paul tells us that " we should not be streightened in 
our bowels, and he speaks unto us, as to his children, 
that we should be enlarged." 2 Cor. viz. 12, 13. It 
was a sweet spirit that God gave Solomon ; it is 
said that " he gave him enlargement of heart as the 
sand that is upon the sea shore." 1 Kings tv. 29. 
And this is what that eminent saint of God (I mean 
JabezJ prayed for ; it was, " that God would bless 
him indeed, and enlarge his coast," 1 Chron. iv. 10; 
and I-hope God will favour thee with the same, my 
brother, for indeed a narrow, contracted, bigoted 
spirit is a very bad one. 

Cushi. I am much obliged to thee, but there are 
several expressions of yours which I object to. I 
have often thought that Moses himself, if he was 
upon earth in our day, would be accused of a nar- 
row spirit ; for he declares to an audience of six 
hundred thousand souls, " Ye have seen all that the 
Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt unto 
Pharoah, and unto ail his servants, and unto all his 
land ; the great temptations v/hich thine eyes have 



36 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER \ 

seen— the signs and those great miracles; yet the 
Lord hath not given you an heart to perceive, and 
eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day. And I 
have led you forty years in the wilderness. 5 '-— -Deut. 
xxix. 2, 3, 4, 5. This part of Moses's doctrine 
wc jV_ be censured in the present day as the effects 
of & contracted spirit ; and certainly it differed much 
from the universal spirit of Corah, Abiram, and 
Bathan ; for though Moses declared Israel to be 
blind, ignorant, and insensible, yet they declared 
shem all sanctified, and in the presence of God, and 
warmly rebuked the bigotry of Moses and Aaron ; 
u For they gathered themselves together against 
Moses, and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye 
take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation 
are holy every one of them, and the lord is among 
them ; wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above 
the congregation of the Lord V*~Numb. xvi. 3. 
The contracted sermon of Moses, and the declara- 
tion of this catholic company, differs widely. Moses 
declares them blind and insensible?— these, declare 
them all/w/z/, and God's presence among them ; but 
it happened with them according to the wise man's 
saying, u There is a just man (as they supposed 
themselves to be) that perisheth in his righteousness, 
and there is a wicked man (as they supposed Moses) 
that prolongeth his life in his wickedness" — EccL viz. 
15; and so it happened here — for Moses outlived 
Corah and all his company. They perished from 
the congregation with all their candour, — they w T ent 
into the pit alive with all that they had ; while Mo- 
ses, with all his contracted spirit, died at the mouth 
of the Almighty ; or, as it might be rendered, with- 
out offering any violence to the text, that God kissed 
him to death. 

Jesus Christ himself was viewed as one of a con- 
tracted spirit, when he told the Nazarenes, " that 
many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, 



OR, SATAN'S LAW-SUIT WITH A SAINT. 37 

but to none of them was Ellas sent but to Sarepta, a 
city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow : 
And many lepers w ere in Israel in the time of Elisha 
the prophet, and none of them were cleansed ; sav- 
ing Naaman the Syrian." These sovereign and 
discriminating acts of God appeared to the Saviour's 
audience as the effects of a contracted spirit, and 
therefore they were determined to " break his neck : 
And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these 
things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and 
thurst him out of the city, and led him unto the brow 
of the hill (whereon their city was built) that they 

might cast him down headlong." Lake iv. 25 29, 

But the Scribes and Pharisees were of a more catho- 
lic spirit; for they excommunicated none unless 
he confessed the true faith of Christ : " For the 
Jews had agreed already,- that if any man did con- 
fess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the 
synagogue." John ix. 21. Nor did the Pharisees 
presume to anathematise any but the real elect of 
God — " this people that know not the law are 
cursed." John vi. 49. You see these open catho- 
lic clergy admitted all their communion, but the 
Saviour and his few chosen followers. So the 
devil had full possession of the synagogues, while 
the rulers and scribes defended their sire and stuck 
to his council : " Have any of the rulers believed 
on him ?" John viz. 48. No, they adhered to their 
own progenitor ; and it was not without cause that 
the Saviour said unto them, u Ye are of your father 
the devil, and the lust of your father ye will do." 
John vitu 44. 

Ahimaaz. You are got quite into irony, my 
brother ; there was no call for such a tart reply. I 
only meant that christians should judge charitably, 
and not entertain too contracted an opinion cf a very 
few- being saved ; and by an open and catholic spi- 
rit, I mean, that we should love all ranks of professing 



oS THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER ; 

people, though they differ from us in doctrines and 
worship ; we should spread a mantle of love over 
their errors, where we have reason to believe that 
the root of the matter is in them. 

Ojshi. I desire to love all that love our Lord 
Jesus Christ in sincerity and truth. This is the 
love that Paul possessed ; he loved all that loved 
our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity and truth ; and 
if they love Christ sincerely, the root of the matter 
Is in them ; and if they love him in truth, then they 
will not differ from us in doctrine. That soul that 
loves Christ in truth, will not stand in need of thy 
mantle to cover his errors, for love is the root of all 
real evangelical obedience, while on the other hand, 
enmity is the root of all rebellion ; and although a 
young believer cannot see eye to eye with an old 
one, yet he will not fight against any truth that is 
brought from the word of God ; love will produce 
the obedience of faith*— charity believeth all things. 
The soul that opposes any plain truth does not 
love Christ in truth, nor does he love him in sin- 
cerity, because he is not obedient. The new 
creation is full as uniform as the old; God did 
not send man into the world to walk about without 
a head, nor does he create a soul anew without giv- 
ing him an understanding ;•—" We know that the 
Son of God is come, and hath given us an under- 
standing." 1 John v. 2Q. God has not only pro- 
mised the spirit of love, but he has promised the 
spirit of a sound mind also. I have heard people 
talk of persons being evangelists in heart, though 
legal in judgment; but Christ tells us that we are 
to know the heart by that which proceeds from it; — - 
if so, an erroneous judgment proves a rotten heart. 
My reason for answering thee so sharply is be- 
cause I have heard so much of late about an open 
cailiolk spirit, that it seems to be a cant word, that 
stands for any thing, or nothing. We have many 
m our clays who seem to be very open in their ser- 



OR, SATAN'S LAW-SUIT WITH A SAINT. 

mons, crying out, " Come all, Jesus stands with 
" open arms to receive you, roll yourselves upon 
" him: my soul for yours if he casts you out." 
And yet these men, that preach this universal gos- 
pel, are so incensed at the cordial reception of a re- 
turning prodigal, that they would rob him of his 
kid, and stop his mouth from declaring what God 
has done for his soul. I am a living witness of this 
truth, and so are thousands more. Their resent- 
ment has ran so high, that the intreaties of the Father 
of all Mercies is not sufficient to bring them into an 
acquiescence with his sovereign display of discrimin- 
ating grace. It appears as if they would have been 
better pleased . if he had perished in his own de- 
ceivings, than they are at the Father's receiving him 
safe and sound. 

Now Moses was of a different spirit from these ; 
for although his doctrine was nothing like theirs in 
latitude, yet his heart was as wide as their sermons. 
When a young man ran and told Moses, sayings 
" Eldad and Medad do prophecy in the camps, and 
Joshua said, my Lord Moses, forbid them ;" his open 
reply is, u Enviest thou for my sake ? I would to 
God that all the Lord's people were prophets, and 
that he would put his spirit upon them.' 5 Numb. 
xu 2T, 28, 29. If this be an open spirit in reality, 
how little of it have they got who will load a sound 
testimony with scandal, and use their utmost endea- 
vour to hinder the usefulness of those that God is 
pleased to send into the church. 

The Bible will hardly furnish us with a minister 
(who pretends to preach Christ) of such a spirit as 
this, except it be Diotrephes ; and God says nothing 
in his favour. " I wrote unto the Church (said 
John), but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the pre- 
eminence among them, received us not ; wherefore, 
if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, 
prating against us with malicious words ; and not 



40 THE JUSTIFICATION OF SINNER ; 

content therewith, neither doth he himself receive 
the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and 
casteth them out of the Church," — 3 John ix. 10. 
This man is one of a catholic spirit; he kept John 
himself out of the pulpit, — he forbade his epistles 
being read to the congregation, — he would admit no 
labourer that John sent into his pulpit, and those 
that would have let them preach in their houses, he 
forbade also ; and if they disputed his usurped au- 
thority, he excommunicated them ; or, as the texth 
saith, he cast them out of the Church. This man 
was a Lord over God's heritage, and this wretched 
spirit is cherished too much in our days. 

For my part I wish never to hear the word catho- 
lic again. It is a word that, I believe, was coined in 
Egypt at the time of the dispute between that 
dreadful monster Arius, the grand father of our 
present Arians, and Athanasius, whom God raised 
up to oppose him. The cause of Satan against 
Christ, carried on by Arius, was called the Avian 
cause, or the Arian faith ; w r hile, on the other hand, 
the cause of truth pleaded by Athanasius, by way of 
distinction, was called the Catholic cause, or Catholic 
faith ; so that those souls that enjoyed the Father's 
love, the Saviour's atonement, and the Holy Ghost's 
testimony in their souls, were styled people of the 
catholic faith; while those that ridiculed and abused 
the Lord Jesus Christ, declaring him a mere crea • 
ture, were called Avians, being the recipients of his 
damnable heresy, as the Holy Ghost styles it, 2 
Pet. ii. 1. 

While the true faith flourished at Rome, those be- 
lievers that were of that city were styled Roman Ca- 
tholics ; but as they have now exalted a Pope, in 
opposition to Christ, and have cast out his word, and 
introduced their own superstitious vanities instead 
of it, and yet appropriate the name Catholic to them^ 
selves, it is now big with nothing but mischief ; for 



41 

he is deemed the best Catholic that opposes truth, 
kills the saints, and burns the bible ; therefore it is 
high thae to drop the word, and bring in those that 
are better understood, and that are of a more ancient 
datt ; such as saints, believers, children of God, 
disciples of Christ, partaker of the Spirit, the house- 
hold of faith, &c- are terms that have a better mean- 
ing than a catholic man, catholic spirit, and catholic 
church* Let us be no longer plunderers of the 
whore of Babylon; let her names go with her relics, 
merit, and all the rest of her trumpery, and let us 
say, Good rid of bad rubbish. 

Akiiiaaz. I find you are no friend to the Roman. 
Catholics, and yet you are beholden to them : for 
your Common Prayer Books were entirely of their 
romposing, only our reformers purged out some few 
Popish dregs' — such as praying to saints and angels, 
8cc. &:c. And you know we have many good and 
able ministers of Jesus Christ, who exalt its excel- 
lency above all extempore prayer ; and others, who 
were not in the establishment when they took on 
them the ministry, are taking the form with them, 
even at the risk of the Bishop's displeasure ; yea, 
and some have spent hundreds, if not thousands of 
pounds at law, in order to secure the use of it. — 
What do you think of this ? 

Cushi. Suppose I was to go to-morrow into a 
town where the gospel had never been preached, and 
where there was not a soul to be found that was 
converted to Christ, and I should preach from this 
text, u Now if any man have not the Spirit of 
Christ he is none of his," Rom. vii. 9 ; and 1 was to 
declare, first, the insufficiency of a form of godliness 
without the power; secondly, the necessity of re- 
generation : thirdly, show the operations of the Spi- 
rit from the word of God; fourthly, that God 
seeketh spiritual worshippers ; and lastly prove, that 
the Holy Ghost is sufficient to work faith, to sanctify 
d 2 



42 THE JUSTIFICATION OP A SINNER ; 

the soul, and prepare it for the reception of Christ ; 
and sufficient also to lead the believer on in a course 
of spiritual devotion, as the spirit of grace and of 
supplication ; and four souls, under this discourse, 
should be convinced of the insufficiency of their 
formality, should you not think that I had acted the 
faithful part in handling the above text in that man- 
ner ? and that God had approved of it by four per- 
sons being convinced under it ? 

Ahimaaz. I should think that you had taken the 
best step that could be taken to undermine their 
sandy foundation, and to shew them the necessity of 
being made new creatures in Christ; and I am fully 
persuaded that God's word would bear you out. 

Cushi. Then suppose there should come a gospel 
minister the week following into the church, and he 
should preach up the excellency of the form, cast a 
few reflections on dissenters, and speak lightly of ex- 
tempore prayer, and settle these four convinced souls 
on their old bottom again, would he not u build up 
that which I had destroyed ?" Gal. ii. 18 ; and if so, 
who would be the transgressor ? 

Ahimaaz. Certainly he would. 

Cushi. Then you have decided this matter. And 
I believe there are many in our days, who are desti- 
tute of grace, bitterly prejudiced against many mi* 
nisters that God has sent, who preach and pray as the 
Spirit gives them utterance, who hear the gospel, but 
place all their hopes in the form. And when these 
unleavened formalists hear a gospel minister cry up 
the excellency of the form, and ridicule spiritual pe- 
titions, their self-righteous souls are fed with the 
venom of asps ; their native prejudice against pious 
dissenters is fixed the firmer, and they are wickedly 
and deceitfully established on the old basis of de- 
praved nature ; — this is no part of the work of an 
t'vangelist. 



T)R, satan's law-suit with a saint. 43 

Ahimaaz. Do you think, my brother, that ever 
the Lord Jesus set their own souls at liberty in an* 
swer to the form of prayer ? One would think that he 
had, as they speak so highly of it, and so lightly of 
extempore prayer. 

Cushi. No ; God permits none to prevail with 
him, but those who by the Spirit's intercession pour 
out their souls before him in faith, under a sense of 
want and in a language expressive of their own 
troubles. And I will be bold to say, that if my bro- 
ther could be in the study of these good men on 
some Saturday evening, or Sunday morning, when 
their Bible is as a sealed book, Satan buffetting 
them, their mind confused, their judgments bewil- 
dered, a congregation gathering together, and no 
text opened to them, no thoughts springing up, alto- 
gether unfurnished for the pulpit, — he would then 
see them upon their knees before God at hard work, 
without any service book in their hands ; he would 
hear their groaning petitions, — see their tears, — and 
be convinced that the whole business was carried on 
between God and their own souls by those very ex- 
tempore prayers which they publicly speak so lightly 
of. 

Ahimaaz. If this be the case, we must act with 
good men's bigotry as the Saviour bids us do with 
bad men's precepts ; he tells us not to do as the Pha- 
risees do, but to do as they say ; but here we must 
not do (in this matter) as these good men say, but 
as they do. 

Cushi. If you do so, you will do right; — for if 
the supplications of the Holy Spirit will not prevail 
with God, no human compositions can. 

Ahimaaz. I believe there was at one time near 
two thousand ministers of the gospel in this country, 
that exposed themselves to many hardships for their 
non-conformity to the Common Prayer, which at 
-umes has led me to think very lightly of their suf- 



44- TAPE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER ; 

ferings ; since I have heard many good men who 
preach the same doctrine that they did, and yet eoite 
tend for, and highly extol, the very things that their 
consciences could not conform to. I have thought 
that their non-conformity was the effect of a stub- 
born and rebellious spirit, and their sufferings were 
only in defence of a blind and misled conscience. 
This must be the case of those non-conformists, or 
our present advocates for the form must be in the 
wrong, one of it ; and I confess your present con- 
versation about it has brought it as a puzzling mat- 
ter of debate afresh to my mind ; and for my part I 
am not able to decide it. ; 

Cushi. It is true, there were great numbers 
that suffered hunger, cold, and nakedness; moreover 
bonds and imprisonments ; yea, and even death it- 
self, rather than conform to the rules of the Com- 
mon Prayer Book. And if they did it in defence 
of a blind or misled conscience, we may say of their 
sufferings as David said of the death of Saul's gen- 
eral— *" died Abner as a fool dieth." 2 Sam. iiti S'&i 
Yet I think 'tis easy to decide the matter between the 
antient non-conformists and our present advocates ; 
the non-conformists had the whole word of God on 
their side, but the others have not. 

It is a blessed thing that men have no dominion 
over our faith, and that our faith is to stand in God's 
power, not in man's wisdom ; but he that attempts 
to establish my faith on a human form, endeavours 
to settle it in the wisdom of men, instead of the 
power of Gt)d. Faith is the gift of God the Father, 
a grace from God the Saviour's fulness, and is 
wrought in man by the operation of God the Holy 
Ghost; and in the promised aid of God, and in the 
powerful operations of Father, Son, and Spirit, it 
must stand, and no where else. 

I know there are many venerable and valuable 
characters, whom God has called to the ministry 



OR, SATAN S LAW-SUIT WITH A SAINT. 45 

since their first ignorant attempt to qualify them- 
selves for it at a university ; and in that sphere they 
will shine, while they abide with God, wherein they 
were called ; but as the current of scripture does 
not flow in that channel, and as their souls were not 
delivered in answer to that form, and as they make 
use of extempore prayer in their families, and be- 
tween God afid their own souls, 1 think they might 
forbear their public reflections on those prayers 
which have done so much for them. 

Ahimaaz. Pray, my dear brother, what may I 
call thy name ? 

Cushi. My name is Cushi. 

Ahimaaz. Of what country, pray. 

Cushi. I am an Israelite ; and blessed be God 
through rich grace I hope I am an Israelite in- 
deed. 

Ahimaaz. That I firmly believe ; for flesh and 
blood could never reveal the things unto thee that I 
have heard from thee ; surely the lips of knowledge 
are a precious jezvel; and the light and favour that 
my soul has felt under thy conversation is an addi- 
tional proof of it — for the excellency and the power 
of religion is all of God. I wish my brother would 
relate a little of the dealings of God with him ; I 
should be all attention— my heart is sweetly becalm- 
ed — my seat is pure easy ; I don't believe that I 
should be tired if I was to sit here all night ; nor do 
I believe that I should feel the want of food — my 
very body has lost its appetite since my soul has 
been at this banquet. 

* Cushi. I can hardly help laughing at thee, my 
brother, for thou sayest I could sit all night, when 
we have done that already ; it was twelve o'clock 
yesterday when we met under this tree, and now it 
wants half an hour of the same — we have sat just 
twenty-three hours and a half; surely if some people 
were to hear thee, they would say as the giddy mul- 



46 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER ; 

titudedid of Peter and John, that they were full oj 
new wine* As for the body having lost its appetite 
is no wonder; the body and soul are closely united, 
and both interested in the covenant of grace. If 
the soul is burdened, the countenance of the body 
will proclaim it ; the knees will tremble under its 
burden, and the whole animal frame will feel the ef- 
fects of it. But, on the other hand, if the soul be 
enrapt in the vision of faith, as Paul was, it is so 
forgotten that the soul cannot relate whether the bo- 
dy was in the company or not ; and when the soul 
is indulged with the smiles of God, the body will 
forget both its wants and its infirmities, as Elijah did 
when his body fasted forty days, after the angels had 
entertained him under the juniper tree ; or like 
Abraham, who at almost an hundred years old ran 
to the tent and ordered an entertainment for the best 
guest that ever visited the world. 

David certainly had some meaning when he said 
" my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living 
God." Psalm Ixxxiv. 2 ; and, on the other hand, 
the terrors of God on his soul made " the beauty 
of his body to consume away like a moth." Psalm 
xxxix. 11. But I shall proceed to give my dear 
brother some account of the dealings of God with 
me, and I shall do it with pleasure ; for I never find 
my spirit more in its element than when, like David, 
I am telling others that fear God u what he hath 
done for my soul," Psalm Ixvi. 16* And indeed I 
think this is doing the work of an evangelist, much 
more than relating what we have done for God. 

In my younger days I was one of a melancholy 
turn of mind, and was kept in perpetual bondage 
through the fear of death; and at certain seasons I 
was rather devotional, after the manner of the Jews, 
but very ignorant of the nature and being of Jeho- 
vah. Nor did I ever rightly consider his omnipre- 
sence, his universal providence, his care for, nor his 



or, satan's law-suit with a saint. 47 

government of the world, until the great stir was 
made in Israel about David, the son of Jesse, killing 
the Goliah of Gath. The report of that wonderful 
act forcibly struck me ; the thoughts of his formida- 
ble and panoply ? d antagonist, and the unarmed strip- 
ling (I mean David) going against hirn with no other 
armour than faith in God, whom he so often styles 
the shield of his help ; surely, he was clad with zeal 
for the Lord God of Israel, as with a cloak. His 
held declaration to his formidable adversary, and the 
wonderful event diat justified his confident predic- 
tion, wrought wonderfully upon me, and effectually 
brought me to believe, verily that there is a God 
that judgeth in the earth* 

From that time I was led to watch narrowly the 
hand of God with that eminent man ; and in heart 
said, as Ruth did to Naomi, u Thy people shall be 
my people, and thy God my God." I saw him in 
so blessed a state, and so visibly defended and up- 
held by the Almighty, that at times I was provoked 
to jealousy, and secretly envied him his happiness, 
yet would have given all the world for a part or lot 
in David's God, whom he so often styles the portion 
of his scuL 

Aiiimaaz. You bring many things to my mind ; 
but to break in upon your warm conversation would 
extinguish the glowing fervour of your spirit; go 
on, my brother, I am all attention. 

Cushi. I soon heard of Saul's hatred to David, 
of his cruel jealousy, and of his attempting to kill 
him ; and some, who were very much attached to . 
Saul, represented David in a bad light, and took the 
of Saul as one appointed, anointed, and set up 
by God himself to be king over Israel. These 
things at times staggered me ; and David's killing 
the Philistines, and scalping three hundred of them, 
in order to obtain Saul's daughter for his wife, was 
very puzzling to me. But I still observed that the 



48 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNEK ; 

protecting and delivering hand of God was evidently 
with him. 

Jonathan, who I believe was a good mah, his ten- 
der regard for David, his espousing his cause, and ex- 
posing himself all to the rage and malice of his father, 
and loving him as his own soul, often brought me to 
believe that there was a divine union between them ; 
and indeed before ever I obtained boldness to speak 
to the sweet Psalmist of Israel, I felt something of 
the same blessed unction on my own soul. One 
thing greatly confounded me, and that was David's 
going down to the cave of Adularn, and appearing 
at the head of such a set of vagrants ; " for all 
that were in distress, and all that were in debt, 
and all that were discontented, they gathered them- 
selves unto him, and he became a captain over them." 
1 Sam. xxii. 2. This I could not easily get over, 
that such a set of men should join themselves to 
him ; and that a favourite of heaven should put 
himself as commander in chief at the head of such 
a ragged regiment* 

But when Saul's awful apostacy from God was 
made known, of his seeking to the witch of Endor 
for relief and counsel, of the hand of God that went 
out against him, of the miserable end that he made, 
together with the wonderful deliverances that God 
wrought for David, of Samuel's attachment to him, 
of the best of saints loving him, and of the al- 
mighty power of God that levelled all his enemies, 
and exalted him on the throne of Israel, in spite of 
all opposition, I was so confirmed in the faithfulness 
and truth of David's God, that an invisible power led 
me to one greater than David ; and a sudden thought 
struck me that David was an eminent type of the 
much desired and long looked for Messiah, who 
is the only sovereign of Israel, David's son, and 
David's Lord. 



OR, SATAN'S LAW-SUIT WITH A SAINT. 49 

This divine dictator led my mind forth to tra- 
verse David's life and conduct, as representing the 
life of one greater ; and from that time I traced all 
up to David's antetype, and there my misconstruc- 
tions were rectified, and all my doubts resolved. 

I considered first his descent from a low family, 
his mean calling as a shepherd, his " ruddy counte- 
nance." 1 Sam. xvi. 12, his being " but a stripling," 
xvii. 56, and his slender legs, Ps. cxlvii. 10, all typi- 
cal of him that was so long foretold, who was to be 
" fairer than the children of men,"— Ps. xlv. 2, and 
called the " woman's seed." David's effeminate 
appearance, and masculine exploits led me to con- 
template, perpetually ,on the mighty deeds that were 
to be performed in future, by one whose appearance 
would be altogether as unheroic as that of David's. 
David's killing the Philistines to obtain a wife, led 
me to consider what the promised Messiah had done 
when "he gave Egypt for our ransom;" and what 
he would do in future in behalf of this spouse, when 
" the wicked shall be, a ransom for the righteous, 
and the transgressors for the upright." — Prov. xxi, 
18. 

Ahimaaz. But you know that Saul's daughter 
was not a gracious woman ; she was taken away 
from David, and given to another, and how could 
she be a type of the spouse of Christ ? — besides it is 
said that u she despised him," and was smitten with 
barrenness for it. 

Cushi. All this is true ; yet Michel "was bone 
of David's bone, and flesh of his flesh, by marri- 
age ;" but she never knew David's Lor,d, nor was 
she a partaker of David's sure mercies ; yet she was 
in my opinion, a type. 

By virtue of the union between the Godhead and 
manhood of Christ, which took place at his incar- 
nation, the bond-woman (I mean the whole body of 
professors who are under the law) may sav, that 
E 



50 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A S1NNERJ 

Christ is flesh of their flesh, and bone of their 
bone, for he was born of a woman, and born under 
the law. And indeed on this account the bond wo- 
man is called a " divorced wife," Jer. iii. 8, and 
judged of God as one that has u broken wedlock." 
Ezek. xvi. 38, and therefore put away, according to 
their legal covenant that allows a divorce, which 
Israel never rightly considered ; and therefore, being 
espoused only by the covenant of works, their mar- 
riage covenant was conditional, they broke wedlock, 
were divorced and put away ; and as the bond-wo- 
man was not included in the covenant of grace, the 
legal covenant, for want of their obedience, afforded 
them no more claim on the Lord as an husband. 
But the elect are not betrothed to the Saviour by the 
law of works, but they are betrothed to him " in lov- 
ing kindness, in mercies, and that for ever." — Ilosea 
ii. 19. Thus the real church is not only bone of his 
bone, by virtue of his incarnation, but is made of one 
spirit with him by regeneration ; " for two (saith 
God) shall be one flesh, but he that is joined to the 
Lord is one spirit." — 1 Cor. vi. 16, 17. Thus Saul's 
daughter was a type of a false church, tho' not of a 
true one; and her being joined to another man shows 
the apostacy of false professors ; and as she was taken 
from David, so God takes away every fruitless pro- 
fessor— -every branch in me that beareth not fruit he 
taketh away, and if they continue until the last day 
in their professions, it matters not. The foolish 
virgins were shut out of the marriage chamber- 
none will enter with the bridegroom into the wed- 
ding but those that have oil in their vessels, or the 
spirit of Christ in their hearts, Matt. ii. 5. 

I considered the poor distressed troop that went 
to the cave of Adulum, as prefiguring the poor sen- 
sible distressed sinners, who become the followers of 
Jesus Christ. Those that are discontented with the 
world and sin, are glad to find contentment in a Sa- 



viour ; and those that are in distress on account of 
fear and bondage, are glad to find relief in their 
God ; and all that are sensible of their debts are 
thankful for a surety. And to be plain, I found 
myself in a spiritual sense one of this number, and 
was by an invisible power led to follow David's an- 
tetype as such. 

Ahimaaz. I beg pardon, my brother, for breaking 
into your discourse, but I find my heart warmed, 
and my mind much enlightened by what you say, 
therefore I hope you will excuse me. Pray what 
do you think of David's covenant with Abigail 
when she met him ; and of his marriage with her ? 
She seemed to be one after his own heart, both as a 
sensible woman and as a saint of God. She pro- 
phecied to David, and spiritualized her husband's 
name, and applies it to his nature. — u Let not my 
Lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, even 
Nabal ; for as his name is, so is he ; Nabal is his 
name, and folly is with him."*— 1 Sam. xxv. 2o. Do 
offer me your thoughts upon that circumstance ; for 
I evidently see that there is a spiritual vein of choice 
gospel that runs through the whole body of divine 
revelation. 

Cushi. There certainly is ; but in running of 
parallels between the types and antetypes, the types 
always come short, and are but faint representations 
of what is represented by them. What was Esau's 
birth right when compared to that which it signified ; 
and what is David when compared to the fruit of 
his body, and his Lord who was to set upon his 
throne 

Ahimaaz. True, my brother ; yet we may enter- 
tain ourselves, and open our own thoughts to each 
other on the word of God, without offending the 
Almighty Saviour, for he bids us search the scrip* 
tures ; and says, they testify of him. I believe the 
Bible to be like its author ; God is a Spirit, and his 
word is spiritual ; for 'tis given by inspiration of 



52 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER ; 

God; and to handle it spiritually proves a spiritual 
discernment, and makes it a spiritual entertainment 
for the souls of believers, whom Paul calls spiri- 
tual : — " But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, 
yet he himself is judged of no man." — 1 Cor. ii. 15. 
Hosea ix. 7. 

Cushi. To legalize the word of God to a heaven- 
born soul, is the way to obscure his evidences, and 
bring him into bondage whom the Lord hath made 
free*— John viii. 36. The man that does this " is a 
minister of the letter— not of the Spirit." — 2 Cor. 
iii. 6. Such a preacher is disobedient to the divine 
command ; God says u Do the work of an evange- 
list, 5 ' 2 Tim. iv. 5, and the believer who is deprived 
of his freedom by him is disobedient also ; for the 
Spirit says, u Stand fast in the liberty wherewith 
Christ has made you free, and be not again entangled 
with the yoke of bondage." — Gal. v. 1. 

I considered Abigail's coming to David as prefi- 
guring every elected soul that God brings to his 
dear Son ; u No man can come to me, except the 
Father which hath sent me to draw him." — John 
vi. 44. Christ, in the character of a bridegroom, 
receives such into spiritual union with himself, and 
holds them fast in the bond of everlasting love for- 
ever ; " I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in 
you." — John xiv. 20. Thus the Lord receives the 
souls that his Father draws to him as his own be- 
loved bride— ■" He that hath the bride is bride- 
groom." — John iii. 29. Abigail came to David 
with spiritual language and prophecy in her mouth, 
and expressed a spiritual union with him, a love to 
him, and predicts his safety on earth, and his eternal 
existence in the favour of God ; and I believe she 
foresaw that herself was to be his wile. 

Observe, first she comes to David, as all sinners 
do to Christ, with a prayer in her mouth, u I pray 
thee forgive the trespass of thine handmaid." S«- 



or, satan's law-suit with a saint. 53 

condly she comes with a full persuasion of the es- 
tablishment and safety of David's house, — " For the 
Lord will certainly make my Lord a sure house." 
So comes the sinner by faith to Christ ; being per- 
suaded there is security in his house, and no where 
else ; and the Saviour is called David, Ezek. xxxvii. 
25, and his church is called the hmse of David to 
this day.— -Zeclu xii. 10. Thirdly, she assigns a 
reason for this, u because my Lord fighteth the bat- 
tles of the Lord," even as Christ overcame the 
world : u Yet a man is risen up to pursue thee, and to 
seek thy soul," — as Judas and the Pharisees did the 
Saviour's. " But the soul of my Lord shall be 
bound in the bundle of life with the Lord thy God" 
— as representing the union between the Saviours 
human nature and his Godhead. a And the souls 
of thine enemies tfiem shall he fling out, as out of 
the middle of a sling ;" — as the Saviour will one 
day cast away the enemies of his cross. 

Thus she came to David with spiritual language ; 
and " every one that hath learned of the Father 
cometh unto me" (says Christ). " Rabbi, thou art 
the son of God, thou art the King of Israel" (saith 
Nathaniel) ; — u Thou art Christ the Son of God" 
(says Peter) : " Flesh and blood hath not revealed 
this unto thee (says the Saviour), but my Father 
which is in Heaven." Abigail now concludes with 
a persuasion of the King's exaltation, and a petition 
in her own favour : " And it shall come to pass, 
when the Lord shall have done to my Lord accord- 
ing to all the good that he hath spoken concerning 
thee, and shall have appointed thee ruler over Is- 
rael ;" as Christ was to be afterwards " upon the 
throne of David, to order it and establish it with 
justice and judgment forever" — Isaiah ix. 7 ; " but 
when the Lord shall have dealt well with my Lord, 
then remember thine hand maid :" As the poor thief 
upon the cress said unto the Saviour, " Lord, re- 
E2 



54 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER J 

member me when thou comest into thy kingdom." 
The answer that Abigail got contains a blessing on 
the Lord for his goodness, a blessing on Abigail 
whom the Lord had sent, and a cordial acceptance 
of her person : " And David said to Abigail, Bless- 
ed be the Lord God of Israel, which sent thee this 
day to me ; and blessed be thou, which has kept me 
this day from coming to shed blood, and from 
avenging myself with my own hand. So David re- 
ceived of her hand that which she had brought him, 
and said unto her, Go up in peace to thine house — 
see, I have hearkened to thy voice, and accepted thy 
person.". — 1 Sam. xxv. 35. These blessings may 
typify the blessings the Lord gave on the mount.— 
David's not avenging himself, shews how the Sa- 
viour left his father to take away Judas, and " every 
other branch in him that beareth not fruit ;" and 
thirdly, it shews the prevalent intercession which be- 
lieving souls make for the wicked — as Abraham's in* 
intercession for Lot, and the inhabitants of Sodom, 
was a staying of the Lord's hand, for a time, from the 
four cities of the plain ; and as Abigail's interces- 
sion kept the sword of David from Nabal and all 
his house. 

Ahimaaz. It is said of Abigail, that she was 
** a woman of good understanding, and of a beauti- 
ful countenance, but the man was churlish and evil 
in his doings." — 1 Sam* xxv. 3. I wonder that a 
gracious woman should submit to be so " unequally 
yoked together with an unbeliever ;" and especially 
with such an evil churl as he was. 

Cushi. We are all as closely wedded to the laxv, 
as a covenant of works, as she was to Nabal ; and 
the law is as churlish as ever Nabal was ; for it not 
only threatens us with the anger of God, but with 
hell also ; hence it is said to be an " adversary." — 
Luke xii. 58, and " against us," CoL ii. 14. And as 
Abigail was barren to Nabal, so is the sinner to 



6R, SATAN'S LAW-SUIT WITH A SAINT. 5o 

God under the law ; but when Nabal was dead, 
then she married David. So when we see the law 
to be a u killing letter," and that it cannot give life 
or fruitfulness, Gal- iii. 21, then we may go and be 
espoused too the spiritual David, who is to be u a 
prince for ever./' Ezek. xxxvii. 25, as Abigail was a 
typical David. Paul is very plain upon this : 
ic Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that 
know the law) how that the law hath dominion over 
a man as long as he liveth ? For the woman which 
hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband 
so long as he liveth ; but if the husband be dead, 
she is loosed from the law of her husband ; so then 
if while her husband liveth she be married to ano- 
ther man, she shall be called an adulteress ; but if 
her husband be dead she is free from that law, so 
that she is no adulteress, though she be married to 
another man. Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are 
become dead to the law by the body of Christ, that 
ye should be married to another, even to him who is 
raised from the dead, that we should bring forth 
fruit unto God." Rorri4 vii. 1,2, 3, 4. 

Ah ima a z. David certainly was a most eminent 
type of the Messiah; and blessed be God I can see 
a deal of choice gospel matter and experience where 
I never expected to find any; and I find that the 
humble approach of Abigail to David, her interces- 
sion for her household, her humble petition for her- 
self, her free-will offering to feed his followers, and 
her earnest desire of being remembered in future by 
him, tallies with my own experience ; for I could 
have " put my mouth in the dust, if so be there 
might be hope for me in the dear Redeemer," Sam* 
Hi. 29. And I wrestled hard with the Lord for my 
friends also, as she did for hers ; and as for the fol- 
lowers of Christ, 1 took pleasure in relieving them 
when I could : and, like unto her, 1 then begged, 
and still beg to be remembered in future by the Lord ; 



' 



£6 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER ; 

and I am sure I have often obtained as sweet an 
answer from David's Lord, as he did from David ; 
and some of the same words in it, go in peace, I have 
accepted thee, has often been a sensible answer to my 
prayers. 

If David was so sweet a type of the Messiah, 
then his ambassadors, that he sent to great Nabal in 
his name, must be typical of the ambassadors of 
Christ ; for they said to Nabal, peace be unto all that 
thou hast. And this agrees with the Saviour's 
message sent by his ambassadors, u into whatsoever 
house you enter, say peace be to this house ; and if 
the Son of Peace be there, your peace shall come 
upon it, and there abide, eating and drinking such 
things as are set before you," Luke x.5, 6,7. What 
do you think of this ? don't you think it is right ? 
for they were to carry peace from David, and receive 
victuals from Nabal, but he gave them none. 

Cushi. I think you are very right ; and they 
fared just as many of the Lord's ambassadors do in 
our days; they neither receive their message, nor 
afford them relief, but impiously rail on them as 
Nabal did, asking who is David? shall I give my 
victu&ls to men who I know not whence they be P 
Thus he sent the ambassadors away both empty and 
ashamed. But what was the consequence? why 
you see that the message of peace was received by a 
daughter of peace, namely Abigail : " and the sword 
was drawn against every male in all the house," 1 
Sam. xxv. 13, 22. And though, by the intercession 
of the daughter of peace the sword was sheathed for 
a time, yet "the Lord God of recompences will 
surely requite," Jer. li. 56. And that many of oux; 
legal self-righteousness wordlings will find, one day 
or other, as Nabal and Israel of old did, when there 
will be no son or daughter of peace left to stand in 
the gap. Abigail's intercession prolonged Nabal's 
life but a few days ; and Israel of old, at one time, 



or, satan's law-suit with a saint. 57 

found no intercessor, and consequently no respite : 
M And the Lord God of their fathers sent to them 
by his messengers rising up betimes and sending, 
because he had compassion on his people and on his 
dwelling place ; but they mocked the messengers of 
God, and despised his words, and misused his pro- 
phets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his 
people, till there was no remedy," 2 Chron. xxxvi* 
15, 16, Even so the Saviour will one day punish 
the covetous wordlings as God punished Nabal. / 
was an hungred and you gave me no meat ; this was 
the crime of Nabal, who refused to relieve the Lord's 
anointed ; and as David's wrath was kindled for the 
contempt of his message, and the indignity done to 
his servants ; so will the Lord say, " As ye did it 
not unto these my brethren ye did it not unto me, 
and these shall go away into evei lasting punishment," 
Mat* xxv. 46. 

Ahimaaz. I see that every part of God's word 
is pregnant with divine instruction, and affords the 
child of God sweet entertainment; but David's mes- 
sengers met with better treatment, when they went 
to espouse Abigail to David : she treated them with 
the greatest civility; they did not go home ashamed 
as before. 

Cushi. And so will all the Lord's servants be 
treated by the elect, who, as Paul says, they are sent 
44 to espouse to the one husband, that they may pre- 
sent them as chaste virgins to Christ,' " 2 Cor* iu 2. 

Thus I have shewed thee, my brother, by what 
way I was led ac first, namely, by observing the good 
hand of the Lord upon another ; even David, as 
many others have done since. From these observa- 
tions I was brought to an acquaintance with David, 
and to enjoy an union with him : and in time I be- 
came one of his messengers after he was established 
on the throne of Israel, and continued with him all 
the time that Absalom's conspiracy was carried on 
against him, and even to his death* 



58 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER ; 

I was with the army of David, when the rebels 
were defeated " in the wood of Ephraim," 2 Sam* 
xviii* 6. And I was sent by Joab the King's com- 
mander, to bear tidings to the citizens of Mahanaim 
of the u death of the conspirator," and of the " de- 
feat of the rebels," 2 Samuel xviiu 21. But alas ! 
it happened to me, as it has done to many more ; I 
began to be lifted up in my office ; I thought it so 
great a thing to be a messenger of the Lord's anointed ; 
and indeed so it was, for God evidently blessed and 
prospered every faithful friend that David had : but, 
to my shame, I forgot myself, and my bountiful be- 
nefactor also, who had brought me not only to be a 
loyal subject of David, but a subject of a spiritual 
tmd an everlasting kingdom ; nor did I daily acknow- 
ledge, as I ought to have done (and as I used to do,) 
the good hand of God with me, which had fixed my 
station so nigh the King's person. My first backsliding 
step was ingratitude ; and the next sin which always 
attends it is remissness in duty, and this leads to 
carnal security, and these procured my wretched fall, 
which soon followed; for, as Solomon says, a haugh~ 
ty spirit goes before a fall. 

Akimaaz. The dealings of God, both in provi- 
dence and grace, have been wonderful with you in- 
deed ; and one would think that a soul so deeply im- 
pressed with a sense of divine goodness, and daily 
compassed about with such visible displays of the 
tender care and rich mercy of God, could never 
become so insensible and ungrateful; but, alas, I 
know by sad experience, " that the heart is deceit- 
ful above all things, and desperately wicked, who 
can know it?" Jer. xvii. 9. 

But pray what was your fall, my brother, for I long 
to compare notes with you, for I have been down my- 
self, as shall be related before we part, if God per- 
mit and you approve, for I am neither tired nor 
hungry, nor do I believe I shall if I sit here all the 
week. 



ok, satan's law-suit with a saint. 59 

Cushi. Why, as I grew proud and self-sufficient, 
I grew independent of God, and neglected prayer ; 
this gradually brought deadness and barrenness on 
my soul, and consequently I became dry and unsa- 
vory in my conversation ; some of the King's devo- 
tional friends began to slight me on this account, and 
when I perceived this I began to shun the most spi- 
ritual part of the royal household, and to cleave to 
them who were but half-hearted to D?*vid ; and this 
led me to associate with some who secretly favoured 
the house of Said. This alienation of affection from 
David alienated my affections from David's God al- 
so ; the man that hates the saints of God in his heart 
can find no communion with God himself ; he that 
hateth his brother abideth in darkness, and if he does 
he cannot find his way to God. From this time I 
felt an hatred rise in my heart against the Lord's 
anointed, and against his most loyal friends ; and 
when I have heard the king exult and triumph in the 
discriminating favour of God towards him, I was 
inwardly galled at it, and especially on recollecting 
that speech which he made to his wife Michal, u it 
was before the Lord, which chose me before thy 
father, and before all his house, to appoint me ruler 
over the people of the Lord, over Israel ; therefore 
I will play before the Lord," 2 Sam. vi. 21. I shall 
not relate the wretched construction that my wicked 
mind put upon the words, but I found an enmity rise 
in my heart against him ; nor could I rejoice in his 
rapturous speeches, and heavenly acclamations, as I 
formerly had done. I found the words of pious Job 
to be true — w Envy slays the silly one," ^ob v. 2. 
But the circumstance that wound my jealousy and 
envy up to the height was David's " giving up the 
five sons of Saul to the Gibeonites, to be hanged on 
the mountain of Gilboa." 2 Sam. chap. 21. 

Thus my love waxed cold to David, and I conse- 
quently lost my sweet fellowship with his God ; and 



60 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER ; 

ail by a false spirit. I also justified in my heart the 
conduct of " Rizpah, the daughter of Ajah, when 
she took sackcloth and spread it for her upon the 
rock from the beginning of harvest until water 
dropped upon them out of heaven, and suffered 
neither the birds of heaven, to rest on then- 
bodies bv day, nor the beasts of the field by 
night," IsaZ'xxL 10. All my rebellion was 
levelled at God himself, who had left Saul, but 
swore to David that he would never leave him. 
—Woe be to that man that knowingly espouses 
an interest that God has blasted, this was my sin, 
and I paid dear for it ; I acted contrary to the visi- 
ble testimony of God, which justified the king: 
« For David's servants performed all that the king 
commanded, and the Lord was intreated for the 
land," 2 Sam. xxi. 14. , 

Who could ever think that there could be such de- 
ception as this in a vessel of mercy ? That an heart 
once in union with the saints, and enflamed with love 
to God, could ever be so damped m affection, both 
to God and his family, as to feel a sensible enmity 
against both, and be prejudiced in favour of apos- 
tates » But, as my royal master says, what ts man ? 

AhimaaI And pray how did the Lord deliver 

th Cus7i Th? 'death of David shocked my very 
soul, and awfully alarmed my conscience; and the 
Sport of his last dying words, « Although my house 
£ not so with God, yet he hath made with me an 
everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure ; 
for this is all my salvation, and all my desire ,2 
Sam xxiii. 5, extorted Balaam's confession from 
myneaS" Let me die the death of the righteous 
and let my last end belike his," Numb., x* m. 10. I 
soon felt the loss of the sweet Psalmist of Israel, 
and found, by woful experience what a dreadlul 
thing it is to cherish enmity against a favourite oi 



CR, SATAN S LAW-SUIT WITH A SAINT. 61 

of heaven whom God is determined to bless. But in 
reading my royal master's writings, which God was 
pleased to bless, I felt my soul revisited with the 
blessings of real repentance for my past folly, for 
which I must ever remain a debtor to the unchange- 
able love of God. I found my mind fit for nothing 
but silent solitude, and therefore I took David's book 
of Psalms in my hand, and determined to tread in 
all the footsteps (if possible) that he had gone; and 
when I came to any spot where he had been visited 
by the Lord, and delivered from any particular trou- 
ble, my soul felt such an unutterable love to him as 
cannot be expressed ; indeed I never knew his worth 
till I felt my loss. And verily God made me feel 
as if it was all my own experience ; " surely this is 
going forth by the footsteps of the flock." Song i. 8. 

I went and wept over his sepulchre by the hour, 
and felt an affection to his remains, as I believe the 
sleeping dust of Samuel and other holy prophets had 
often affected David himself — a he had took pleasure 
in the stones of Zion, and favored the dust thereof," 
Psalm ciu 14. From thence I came into the valley 
of Beca, and read what David said of that; and 
I am sure I enjoyed and felt every word of it, until 
I took his words as my own, and spoke to my long 
suffering and propitious Redeemer in the language of 
his eminent type and faithful servant David ; and 
through the super-abounding and recovering grace of 
my covenant God, I am arrived at Hermon. Bless- 
ed be God, I have been now for some weeks under 
the sweet teaching of that divine instructor that 
taught me the path of life at first, and God grant 
that I never may fall, nor stray from him again, 
neither in heart nor in life. 

Ahimaaz. Wonderful are the works of God, and 

wonderful has his mercy been to thee, my brother ; 

I think the union you have found with David's 

spirit in his writings, is what another means when 

F 



62 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER ; 

he says, u We are come to mount Zion, to the hea- 
venly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of 
angels, to the spirits of just men made perfect, &c." 
Heb. xii. 22. The real believer, that has fellow- 
ship with the Father and the Son, by the Holy 
Ghost, is of one spirit with all the heavenly family ; 
for we find a union of sentiment with them, — we 
see as they saw, — and are in the same path of tribu- 
lation that they were in, — are under the influence 
of the same spirit,— -and find a love to them, a 
union with them, and a hope of joining them, and 
enjoying their company to all eternity. 

Cushi. It certainly is the apostle's meaning ; for 
we are united to the same head of influence, that 
glorified souls enjoy above : there is but one blessed 
Spirit that unites the elect family both of heaven and 
earth to one head, only we u have but the first fruits 
of the Spirit," Rom. viii. 23. while they enjoy "the 
inheritance of the saints in light, Acts xxvi. 18; 
for, as a good man says, grace is glory begun below, 
and glory is grace in perfection. But let me hear a 
little of the dealings of God with thee, my brother. 

Ahimaaz. Pray don't you know me ? 

Cushi. No, not that I recollect? 

Aiiima a z. Don't you remember a person that 
pressed upon Joab to carry tidings after the death 
of Absalom, when the rebels were routed u in the 
woods of Ephraim ?," 

Cushi. Yes, I do, his name was Ahimaaz, a 
fresh-coloured young man. He was one that brought 
the wretched council of Ahithopel to David. 

Ahimaaz. You are right; and I am the man. 
u Hushai the Archite sent me with tidings to the 
king," 2 Sam. xvii. 14, and I was obliged to stay by 
u Enrogal, the king's gardens, for fear of being ta- 
ken by Absalom's spies ; and at last I was hid in a 
well by a good woman who was a lover of David." 
2 Sam. xvii. 17, 18, 19. 



or, satan's law-suit with a saint. 63 

Cushi. Why you are much altered since that 
time. 

Ahimaaz. Yes ; I have had a good deal to humble 
me since that, and blessed be God for it ; for though 
I have been sorely afflicted, yet it has been for the 
good of my soul; for I find where there are no in- 
ward nor outward trials there is nb growth in grace ; 
but when once an heart has been thoroughly hum- 
bled, a little cross will bring it low. 

Cushi. I am glad at my heart to see thee, my 
brother ; and especially to find thee a lover of the 
great and blessed Messiah. 

Ahimaaz. Not more glad than I am to see thee, 
and especially to find thee a scribe so well instructed, 

Cushi. But do tell me how thou earnest ac- 
quainted with David at first, for I almost forget 
thee ; for, to the best of my remembrance, thou didst 
not abide long in the king's service; nor do I re- 
member the cause, nor the time of thy going out. 

Ahimaaz. My father's u name was Zadok, a 
priest and a Levite," 2 Sam, xv, 24 ; and he received 
a charge from David "to carry the ark from follow- 
ing him back to the city," ver. 15. My father being 
a priest and a Levite, he was much in favour with 
the king ; and indeed David sometimes styled him a 
seer or prophet; and therefore, as Da.vid'3 confidant, 
he sent him back as a spy over the conspirators, and 
I went with him, as you read : " the king said also 
unto Zadok the priest, art not thou a seer ? Return, 
into the city in peace, and your two sons with you, 
Ahimaaz thy son, and Jonathan the son of Abia- 
thor," 2 Sam. xv. 27. 

My being the son of a. pious priest, as well as a. 
seer, I learnt to talk of religious matters fluently ; 
and being kept close to the worship of the Jews as 
well as to family prayer, I was capable of speaking 
in prayer, and had an outside appearance of sanctity ; 
and indeed thought at times that I was a real saint 



04 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER Ji 

and prophet of God, as well as my father : but r 
alas ! I have found since that grace is not hereditary r 
It is the gift of God, and from God we must receive 
it for ourselves r if ever we are saved. 

Cushi. All the- principles of religion that children 
learn by rote from their parents, be they ever so 
sound, they will give them all up when they are 
brought under deep conviction ; and be just as self- 
righteous and as self-willed as the most stubborn 
Pharisee in the world : until God brings them out 
of bondage, and then he will apply those wholesome 
truths to their heart, which before had only a lodg » 
ing in their head, 

Ahimaaz. Indeed, my brother, that is a true as- 
sertion, I know it by experience ; whatever doctrines 
are instilled into people's heads by men, will easily 
be drove out by men, unless God apply them by 
the Holy Ghost. 

But, to proceed; I was sent by my father in 
company with Jonathan, to carry tidings to David 
from Hushai ; and when we had delivered our mes- 
sage to the king, I considered myself a man of con « 
sequence ; first, as the son of a s^er— secondly, as a 
messenger to the king— and thirdly, as a loyal subject 
to David when so many rebelled against him. This 
was followed with the alarming tidings of " Ahitho- 
phel's having hanged himself;" I saw the Lord had 
answered David's prayer when he said, " O Lord, 
turn the counsel of Ahithopel into foolishness;" 
and was much surprised at the terrible judgments by 
which God had answered it. I secretly thanked 
God in my heart that I was not like Ahithopel, and 
was not a little pleased with my loyalty ; and truly 
I thought myself on the Lord's side, because I was 
with the Lord's anointed. And indeed this awful 
judgment falling on so great a man, in answer to Da- 
vid's simple prayer, so fired my zeal, that I followed 
the king to Mahanaim, and went with the king's 



or, satan's law-suit with a saint. 65 

forces against the rebels ; and was with Joab when 
Absalom was slain, and thought myself a man 
as sufficient to bear tidings as any in Palestine. I 
earnestly pressed upon Joab to let me ago, but Joab 
would not send the tidings by me, though I used 
much importunity. 

Cushi. You are not the first man, my brother, 
that has been forward at this work, nor will you be 
the last ; those that have the fewest tidings to bear 
are the most forward to run,— and they that have 
nothing to say, are sure to outrun them that have ; 
but if ever God sends them with tidings, they will 
have all their ground to run over again ; for if they 
are true messengers, they must go all the way in 
regeneration which they went before in external 
profession. 

Ahimaaz. True, my brother; and so have^ 
found it ; for after Joab had called and sent you 
with the tidings, I was grieved at it, though he 
told me hat u l should bear tidings another day, 
butthen I had no tidings ready; however I im- 
portuned himagain to let me run after you, but he 
refused; but I wearied him with my importunity 
until he said, Run ; so I set off by the way of the 
plain, and so out-run you." 2 Samuel xviii. 18 to 23*. 

Cushi. Ah, that is often the case now-a-days ; 
there are many that run before they are sent ; and i£ 
one takes the path of tribulation, and the other the 
way of the plain, no wonder if the latter, in the 
judgment of men, out-runs the former. But in the 
eyes of the Lord it is not so — " there are last that 
shall be first, and first last, for many are called by 
the gospel, but few chosen of God, and fewer still 
to bear tidings," Matt. xxv. 16. " The race, says the 
wise man, is not to the swift, nor the battle to the 
strong,' Eccl. ix. 11, Many a wise man has mis- 
took the road, and missed the mark, while a the 
fool has not erred in the path," ha* xxxv. 8 ; and. 



66 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER ; 

when the great spoil was divided, " the lame have 
took the prey/' Isa. xxxiii. 23. 

But pray what were the chief motives that so 
strongly induced you to bear tidings ? for the man 
who waits for tidings in the field of battle is in im- 
minent danger, nor is he in less danger when he runs 
with tidings, for he is exposed to the arrows of 
every scouting party. 

Ahimaaz. I have often observed that when the 
citizens of Zion have set a watchman upon their 
walls, to observe the approach of an enemy to their 
liberties, or an ambassador of peace ; if the latter 
has appeared; as soon as the " watchman lifted up 
his voice, and gave the watch-word," Isa. nu 8, the 
citizens would immediately climb upon the walls, 
and when they saw the messenger gain the summit 
of an hill they would cry out, " How beautiful upon 
the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good 
tidings, that publisheth peace, that brings good 
tidings of good, that publisheth salvation ; that saith 
unto Zion, thy God reigneth," Isa. lit. 7 ;, and as 
soon as he drew nigh the walls, the porter would 
open the door with such jay to see him, and cry out, 
" Come in r thou blessed of the Lord, why standest 
thou without?" Gen. xxiv. 31. And as soon as he 
came in, all the inhabitants of the city would flock 
round him from every quarter, to hear what the ti- 
dings were ; and while he has stood publishing them, 
some would smile, others weep, some triumph, and 
some could hardly keep audience for joy ; and when 
he has ended his oration, some have wept over him, 
others thanked God for sending him, others wishing 
tp hear the same tidings over again ; and, to be short, 
all those that prized their liberties have showered the 
blessings of heaven upon his head. Indeed some few 
that knew not what a citizen's liberties were worth, 
have gone away railing at the messenger and his 
message both; but the citizens, who were free men } 



or, satan's law-suit with a saint. 67 

have followed them up with such sharp rebukes, and 
have so justified wisdom's messenger and message ', 
that they have skulked away with a fallen counte- 
nance, like those who once accused the adultrous -wo- 
man before the great Messiah. 

3y these observations I clearly saw that there was 
a double honour belonging to the office ; and I have 
secretly envied the messenger, and coveted the ho- 
nour of his holy calling. These were my motives; 
and I thought with myself thus : — My father is a 
priest— I have good learning, and can speak with a 
more audible voice than he, and have sublime ex- 
pressions at command to convey tidings— and who 
more fit than I ? 

Cushi. Ah, my brother, but there is a power that 
attends a real tidings-bearer which no audible voice 
can command ; the power is of the Messiah, and 
not of us ; and u those that honour him he will ho- 
nour," 1 Sam. ii. 30. 

Ahimaaz. Blessed be God I know that now; 
but, as I before observed, these were my motives ; 
and as I knew the citizens of Mahanaim would all 
be belonging for tidings, I* was determined to get 
their praise ; therefore I strove to outrun you, tho' 
I sweat for it. 

Cushi. And when you came to the city, pray 
what did you say ?. 

Ahimaaz. Oh, I made a poor tale of it ; " The 
king said, is the young man Absalom safe ? and I 
answered, when Joab sent the king's servant, and 
me thy servant, I saw a great tumult, but I know 
not what it was," 2. Sam. xviii. 29. 

Cushi. And pray how did the citizens receive 
you, my friend ; did they exult and triumph, and 
bless your feet for bringing good tidings I 

Ahimaaz. No, far from it; their seeing me run 
so fast raised their expectation very high ; and the 
watchman crying out, " The running of the fore- 



68 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER ; 

most is like the running of Ahimaaz, the son of Za- 
dok," 2 Sam. xviii. 27, raised it still higher, so that 
they expected good tidings, and an eloquent oration 
from the son of the seer. But, alas, all their ex- 
pectations were cut off, and their very countenances 
were expressive of the effects of their starving dis- 
appointment ; my " false gift of which I had boasted, 
was (as wisdom says) a cloud and wind without rain," 
Prov. xxv. 14 ; and so the citizens found it, for they 
got neither refreshment nor hope from my tidings. 

Ctfs-Hi. But I suppose you thought that you 
should cut a figure among them when you set off, 
did you not ? 

Ahimaaz. O yes, that I did; for I thought the 
very word tidings, and a few encomiums put upon 
the king, would be enough to set all the citizens irt 
an extacy ; for I had observed in the tidings of 
others, that many praises on the king were introdu- 
ced, therefore, I was determined not to leave these 
out. 

Cuski. And did you cry out tidings, and praise 
the king ? 

Ahimaaz. Tou may be sure that I tried to mi- 
mick others as well as I could; I made a great out- 
cry, I bowed my knees, and I praised the king ; " I 
called out and said to the king, all is well; and I 
fell down to the earth on my face before the king, 
and said, blessed be the Lord thy God, which hath 
delivered up the men that lifted up their hand against 
my Lord the king," 2 Sam. xviii. 28 ; but when they 
began to enquire into particulars, I was obliged to 
tell them that " I saw a great tumult, but I knew 
not what it was." 2 Sam« xviii. 29. 

Cushi. And suppose any of the citizens had 
asked who sent you, what should you have said to 
them? 

Ahimaaz. Had that been the case, I could not 
have answered them at all, for indeed I was not 



or, satan's law-suit with a saint. 69 

sent ; I only got leave of Joab to run after you, when 
indeed my intent was to run before you, and that 
only for the sake of applause. 

Cushi. The man that bears tidings, ought to 
shew both his mission and commission; and if the 
citizens are satisfied with these, they will shew him 
respect, and give him audience too, whether his ti- 
dings be disagreeable or pleasing. How wouldest 
thou have acted if they had scrutinized thy know- 
ledge of heraldry and war, by asking thee what ban- 
ners were displayed ? Isa* xni. and what standards 
were set up ? Isa. xlix. 22. who discovered their 
valour, 2 Tim. iv. 7. and who their cowardice, PsaL 
Ixxviii. 9. what persons deserted, and who came 
over to the king* standard, Isa. Ixii* 10. what stand- 
ard bearer fainted, Isa. x. 18. who stood it out, 1 
Cor. xvi. 13. and who first broke their ranks, Joel iu 
7. who were taken prisoners, how many wounded, 
Acts ii. 37, and how many slain ? 

Ahimaaz, All this I thought nothing about; I 
cried out, all is well, dropped upon my knees and 
praised the king in God's name ; and I thought that 
would do. 

But I was much abashed to see how the citizens 
looked at me ; I appeared as a mere impostor con- 
founded before them, and some of them whispered 
together, saying, what could tempt him to run, sweat- 
ing at that rate, with the empty sound of all is zvell 
in his mouth, when he knows nothing of the matter ? 

Cushi. And pray what said the king to thee ? 

Ahimaaz. He frowned upon me, and put me 
to the blush before the loyalists, bjr telling me to give 
this man place (namely you) ; He sternly said unto 
me, " turn aside, and stand here ; and I turned aside, 
and stood still," 2 Sam. xviii. 20. 

Cushi. Thou art not the first aspiring, character 
that has " been put lower in the presence of the 
prince, whom thine eyes have seen," Prov* xxv. 7« 



TO THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER } 

Ahimaaz. I assure you, my brother, that my 
pride was much hurt at it, my consequence much 
demolished, and I have been fully convinced since, 
that more than an audible voice is wanted in those 
that bear tidings. And, indeed, from that time I 
found my false zeal abate, and my love to the king 
wax cold ; and no wonder when I only followed him 
to gain a name, and get applause ; and expected him 
to encourage me in my pride. 

Cushi. And did this affair put a final stop to 
your desire of appearing in that character. 

Ahimaaz. No; Iran with the words, all is well, 
in my mouth after that. 

But that which put a final stop to my running was, 
I had a fall upon a certain mountain, as you had on 
Mount Gilboa. Your barren soul lay there many 
days (you say,) without either dew or rain; but 
mine had never felt either. 

Cushi. Pray where was you running, and what 
was the name of the mountain on which you fell ? 
Did you " stumble upon one of the dark mountains ?" 
jfer. xiii 16. 

Ahimaaz. If I had, I should not have known 
it ; because I had never been in the light* No ; I 
was running from Mahanaim to Jerusalem, to carry 
the tidings of Absalom^s death, and the defeat of 
the rebels* The king did not send me, nor was I 
sent by any body else, but I stole away; for as I had 
met with a wretched disappointment before at Ma- 
hanaim, I was determined to try my luck again at 
Jerusalem; but just as I came u to the village call- 
ed Belphage, at the mount of Olives," Mark xi. 1. 
and was ascending the next hill, down I came neck 
and heels. 

Cushi. What, did you fall on the mount of 
Olives ? 

Ahimaaz. If I had, I should have been able to 
have got up ag&in. No : it was the next mount to 



WITH A SAINT. 71 

that, called the Mount of Corruption ; and rightly 
named it is ; for there Solomon fell, and close to it 
he raised up all his abominable temples tor idolatry, 
as you read, " and the high places that were before 
Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the 
Mount of Corruption, which Solomon (the king of 
Israel) had builded for Ashtoreth, the abomination 
of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination 
of the Moabites ; and for Milconi the abomination 
of the children of Ammon, did (Josiah) defile," 2 
Kings xxiiu 13. 

Cushi. There never was above one man vet that 
found a way to Jerusalem, so as entirely to escape 
that mountain, for it stands right before die city : 
and it is upon that mount that all the abominable 
Babels, vain towers, baseless castles, and imaginary 
structures in the world have been reared* I believe 
that is the mount that bears up the whole fabric of 
iniquity ; it is a spot* that is barren of all good ; no 
good fruit ever grows there. This the great Mes- 
siah shewed to his followers, when he cursed the 
fruitless fig-tree ; that tree was barren^ and yet it 
grew almost a quarter of a mile from that mount. 

Ahimaaz. They never could get the Messiah to 
put his foot on that mount; he kept close to the 
Mount of Olives, until he came to the foot of the 
Mount of Corruption ; and then he sent his servants 
to fetch the ass ; and he rode all the rest of the way 
1 upon the garment of his followers, as it is written, 
" and they brought the colt to Jesus, and cast their 
garments on him ; and he sat upon him, and many 
spread their garments in the way," Mark xi. 7, 8. 
Perhaps this was done to show them, " that their 
Slthy rags of self-righteousness," Isa. xlvi. 6, or 
their filthy garments, Zech. Hi. 3, ought to be left 
at the foot of that mount, as more fit for the foot of 
2j\ ass, than the ornament of a christian. 



72 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER ; 

Cushi. That is right, and you have hit the mark y 
the Saviour did nothing in vain. It was not without 
a cause that he stopped at that mount, nor did he 
curse the fruitless fig-tree, mount the ass, or ride on 
the clothes of his followers for nothing: but I sup- 
pose you learnt something by your fall; that is, you 
had some strange sensations, and found yourself too 
much disabled to run with tidings, did you not i 

Ahimaaz. Indeed I did; for I never knew 
what the fall of Adam meant, till I fell on that 
mount ; nor did I form any true idea of corruption 
till I stumbled on that mount myself; for I thought 
I fell from all hope of mercy ; I felt myself the 
basest mortal in all the world ; my beauty and self- 
sufficiency all vanished, and 1 thought the mount 
and myself were both of a piece, " for all my come- 
liness was turned into corruption, and I retained no 
strength" [for bearing tidings], Dan. x. 8. 

Cushi. Then I suppose you could hardly credit 
your own tidings, I mean, that all was well, " nor 
yet praise the king, as usual." 

Ahimaaz. Indeed I found neither love to the 
king nor to the loyalists ; I was all enmity as well 
as corruption* 

Cushi. You was more fit to carry tidings then, 
than ever you had been before : I suppose you found 
yourself in a fine pickle ; pray who helped you up ? 

Ahimaaz. Indeed, if I had been sent with tid- 
ings then, they would have been heavy tidings, and 
consequently I should not have run so fast. 

There appeared to me a man with a shining coun- 
tenance, and asked me what country I was of ? I 
tokl him I was not a countryman, but a citizen of 
Jerusalem, and the son of a certain priest. He re- 
plied, I did not ask after your descent, but your re- 
sidence ; if you are a citizen of Jerusalem, " there 
is a fountain opened for the inhabitants of that city 
for sin and for uncleanness," Zech. xiii. 1. I told 



OR, SATAN'S LAW-SUIT WITH A SAINT. To 

him that I could not stand. He answered, " Let the 
weak say, I am strong," Joel iii. 10. But I replied I 
cannot see. He answered, " I bring the blind by a 
way that they know not," Isa. xlii. 16. I felj into a 
kind of a gloomy trance^ and was insensibly conveyed 
to a fountain which my mind had some glimmering 
views of : and I found myself, in three days after, 
before Mount Calvary, clothed, becalmed, cleansed, 
in perfect peace, and in my right mind : but what I 
saw there, and what I felt, I shall never be able to 
describe ; nor how this amazing change was wrought, 
shall I ever be able to relate ; for I soon found that 
all my eloquence and sublime style were entirely in- 
sufficient to relate or represent so divine an operation, 
and so glorious a change. 

Cuhsi. But did you not run to some of the 
king's messengers and tell them the vision ? 

Ahimaaz. Yes; and in this I acted like Daniel, 
" I was astonished at the vision, but none understood 
it," Dan. viii. 27. 

Cushi. But did none laugh at it, nor rail against it ? 

Ahimaaz. Yes; some called me a mystick; some 
a Sadducee, some an enthusiast, some a fanatic, 
some a Pythagorean, and others an Antinomian; 
but I knew no more what they meant by these names, 
than they did of my vision. 

Cushi. 'Tis very well you did not ; for they only 
called you by these names, being provoked to jea- 
lousy by your happiness : they will take care not to 
explain the meaning of these reproachful names, 
lest they should appear applicable to themselves. 

Ahimaaz. They seemed to me to be quite stran- 
gers to the mount on which I fell, and indeed so was 
I, till I tumbled upon it ; for I have often gone over 
it without feeling its dreadful effects. 

Cushi. Yes; and so have many more; but the 
great Messiah, when he stood at the foot of the 
Mount of Olives, took particular notice of the Mount 
G 



74 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER j 

of Corruption. "For, in the morning as they passed 
by, they saw the fig-tree dried up by the roots. 
And Peter calling to remembrance, saith unto him, 
master, behold the fig-tree which thou cursedst is 
withered away. And Jesus answering, saith unto 
them, have faith in God, For verily I say unto you, 
that whosoever shall say unto this mountain [point- 
ing to the Mount of Corruption, which was parted 
from the Mount of Olives by only a valley], be thou 
removed, and be thou cast into the sea ; and shall 
not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those 
things which he saith shall come to pass ; he shall 
have whatsoever he saith," Mark xi. 21,22,23. 

Ahimaaz. If you see any thing in the Messiah's 
words, my brother, I wish you would explain them 
to me, as I am concerned in their meaning, and have 
not the least desire of satisfying a vain curiosity. 

Cushi. Depend upon it, my brother, that the 
Messiah never spake or did any thing in vain. You 
say you know what the Mount of Corruption means, 
by woful experience ; if so, when the Saviour pointed 
to that mount in the singular number, doubtless he 
meant the sins of men, and the guilt which they have 
contracted, both which go by the name of corrup- 
tion ; and when he says, faith shall remove it into the 
sea, he means, that those who really believe in a re- 
conciled God, through himself shall find the guilt 
and destroying power of their sins, and at last the 
whole body of corruption removed forever ; agreea- 
ble to this text, u he will turn again, he will have 
compassion upon us, he will subdue our iniquities, 
and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the 
sea," Micah vii. 19. 

If we had faith enough to remove the Mount of 
Corruption, no mountain of difficulties would discou- 
rage us, nor would Mount Sinai itself terrify us. 

Ahimaaz. I believe you, my brother ; for a man's 
worst enemies are the corruptions of his own heart ; 



OR, SATAN S LAW-SUIT WITH A SAINT. 76 

and I believe the main root of all is unbelief. If I 
had faith enough to pluck up unbelief, I could say 
to the sycamine-tree, (mentioned by the Messiah), 
" be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted 
in the sea ; and it should obey me," Luke xvii. G. 

Cushi. It was that u kind of tree that Zaccheus 
climbed up into, in order to see the Saviour," Luke 
xix. 4. If he had climbed up into EzekiePs cedar, 
1 believe the Messiah would never have called him 
down, " for that is to be a refuge for all fowls of 
every wing," Ezek. 22, 23. But pray how did you 
fare the messengers of the king, after they had heard 
your vision. 

Ahimaaz. Why, after all of them had treated me 
and my vision with contempt, I began to think light- 
ly of it myself, and so gradually lost all the comfort 
of it. That which gave the greatest disgust to them 
was, my saying it was u a sovereign and discrimina- 
u ting act of God to bring me that way :" and such 
an act it was to a demonstration, because I could find 
none that understood it ; but blessed be God, I felt 
the comforts of it, nor do I believe the remembrance 
of it, nor the effects of it, will ever be lost ; but the 
word sovereign seemed to give great offence among 
them, as if I would feign myself to be a singular 
man ; when I only told them the dealings of God 
with myself, that they might pass their judgment on 
it, not doubting but they all had experienced the 
same ; but as none of them had experienced the like. 
nor understood the vision, 1 took it for granted that 
there was something singular in it. 

Cushi. Every man must stand by his own testi- 
mony, that is yours, and you must abide by it : he 
that would deprive you of it, without convincing 
you that you ^ire wrong, is both a thief and a robber, 
and you are no better than Esau if you give it up ; 
u hold fast that which thou hast, that no man take 
thv crown." Rev> iii. 11. 



T6 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER I 

Ahimaaz. I bless God, the impression and the 
witness is still left, though the joys of it are much 
abated, and the light of it much obscured. 

For you must know that I dropt into the old way 
of Jewish worship again; and as I could find no 
man that understood the vision^ but that all con- 
demned it, I soon got cold, until a late fit of sick- 
ness fell to my lot, to which I relunctantly submit- 
ted : but before I recovered, I found something of 
that sacred and delightful fire (which is so despised) 
glow again in my heart ; and since I have been able 
to go abroad, I have spent the chief of my time in 
private, and enjoyed my comforts alone ; and this is 
the farthest journey that I have taken since my re- 
covery. This is the reason that you see me look so 
poorly ; and I think that God sent you to me to cast 
a fresh light on this good work upon my soul, and I 
hope I shall ever bless God for thee, and for this 
happy season with thee. 

Cushi. Indeed, my brother, it is my delightful 
element, to be of use to the souls of my poor fellow 
sinners ; and I do believe that God has suffered me 
to meet with hard treatment, both from the world 
and from his own people, also that I might, as an in- 
strument in his hand, drop a word in season to others 
who may meet with the same. And I would advise 
thee to aim chiefly at a private communion with the 
great Messiah ; there is no fellowship (but with him) 
that will enable thee to die happy ; and I hope thou 
wilt never find happiness short of that, whilst thou 
livest. 

Ahimaaz. Indeed, if a christian has no access 
to his God, let him cut what figure he may in the 
world, his own soul is barren, nor does joy and peace 
in believing operate upon him. Those that called 
me a Pythagorean, because I taked of a change 
wrought on my soul, seemed to be as far from en- 



OR, SATAN'S LAW-aUil WITH A SAINT. 71 

joying God's presence as those who made no pro- 
fession at all. 

Cushi. Let men make what stir they may about 
religion, if they have not the love of God in their 
hearts, they are dead ; the Spirit says, u if a mau 
hath all knowledge, and understands all mysteries, 
and speaks with the tongue of men and of angels, 
and hath not charity, it profiteth him nothing," 1 
Cor. i. 2, 3. And if ever a man be brought to love 
God, it will be because God hath pardoned his sin : 
u This woman's sins were many, and they are for- 
given her, and she loveth much ; but where little is 
forgiven the same loveth little," Lake vii. 47 ; love 
is therefore the blessed effect of pardon, or the con- 
sequence of it. 

Ahimaaz. O how wonderful is the enlarging 
enflami ?g, and attracting power of divine love on 
the soul ! it swallows up all, and God is all in all to 
such an happy soul. But, alas, this love is little in- 
sisted on in our day; indeed it is rather opposed. 

Cushi. He that labours only at the letter, is not 
a minister of the Spirit," 2 Cor. iii 6. nor does he 
exalt in the kingdom of God, u for that stands not 
in word, but in power," 1 Cor. iv. 20. 

Ahimaaz. Pray what do you think of David's 
strong affection for Absalom 1 David knew that he 
was not a good man ; nay, he was a rebel against his 
father, and against God, who anointed him ; and he 
that opposed David's kingdom, opposed the king- 
dom of Messiah, for that was included in it, and 
prefigured by it. Absalom could be no type of the 
Messiah, who is called the fruit of David's body. 

Cushi. The great Messiah is the father of all 
flesh by creation, as David was of his own family, 
which consisted of bad and good; " Have we not 
all one father? hath not one God created us ?" Mai. 
ii. 10. But> in an especial manner he is the ever- 
lasting father of all his spiritual children, Isa. ix. 6. 
Absalom w^as David's son after the flesh, though not 
. G2 



78 THE JUSTIFICATION Or A SINNER ; 

a partaker of his father's grace; but Solomon, the 
beloved of the Lord, 2 Sam. xii. 24, was a partaker 
of his father's grace, as well as a partaker of his na- 
ture. And David's weeping over Absalom, and 
crying out u O my son Absolom, my son, my son," 
2 Sam. xviii. 38, may prefigure the sympathetic 
feelings of the Messiah's humanity for Israel after 
the flesh, when he wept over Jerusalem, and said, 
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Matt, xxiii. 37. — Luke 
xtx. 41. 

Ahimaaz. Poor David was much perplexed 
with hypocritical prosessors in his days ; Joab was a 
bitter plague to him through all his reign, as well as 
Ahithophel. 

Cushi. I believe Joab prefigured every false 
leader of the Lord's saints ; and Ahithophel repre- 
sented Judas ; one you know hung himself as Judas 
did, and the other was killed at the foot of the altar, 
as many are, by the sword of justice in a false pro- 
fession . 

Ahimaaz. I have often wondered that Joab 
should fly for refuge to the horns of the altar. 

Cusm. The altar typified the Saviour,, who is a 
refuge for the distressed ; and Joab might falsely 
construe the privileges that God granted to the man- 
flayer ; but Joab's crime was not manslaughter, for 
he u killed Amasa with his sword while he was kis- 
sing of him," 2 Sam. xx. 9, 10, and " so shed the 
blood of war in peace," 1 Kings ii. 5. A wilful 
murderer has no benefit from the laws granted to the 
tnanslayer. God says of such, " Thou shalt take 
him from my altar," Exod. xxu 14. Pray, my bro- 
ther, have you ever heard of a man that goes by the 
name of Prodigality ? 

Ahimaaz. Yes, I think I have; he is one of a 
singular character, if he be the person that I mean. 

Cushi. Yes, he is ; and it is a name that he has 
^assumed, because its wretched signification is sq ap- 



or, satan's law-suit with a saint. 79 

plicable to himself; for, as he says, he has been a 
prodigal from his childhood, and a desperate rebel 
against Christ under it. 

Ahima az. Why he has acted as Naomi did, who 
in a fit of unbelief fled from Bethlehem to Moab, in 
order to secure her property, a famine then reigning 
in Israel ; but, instead of saving all, she lost all ; for 
she came home childless, in widowhood and begga- 
ry ; she had lost both her sons, her husband, and her 
property ; and then she calls herself Mara, and de- 
sires them to call her Naomi no more ; hinting there- 
by, that what she had took pleasure in was gone, and 
bitterness had succeeded : " For the Almighty hath 
dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, and 
the Lord hath brought me home again empty ; why 
then call ye me Naomi, seeing the Lord hath testi- 
fied against me ?" Ruth i. 20, 21. 

Cushi. She could see that the hand of the Lord 
was gone out against her, but she could not see that 
her feet went out against him. If there were no 
protection for her in Israel, she could not expect it 
in Moab. Thus the u foolishness of man pervert- 
eth his way, and his heart fretteth against the Lord," 
Prov. xix. 3. 

Ahimaaz. Pray what country man is this Pro- 
digalis ? I think 1 have heard that the Lord has 
called him by grace, if he be the man that I have 
heard of. 

Cushi. I believe he was born within the walls of 
salvation, and is, as you have heard, called to the 
knowledge of the truth ; he came of religious pa- 
rents, but he was a most wretched despiser of reli- 
gion ; indeed, he is a singular monument of mercy ; 
he had a strong memory to contain what he heard, 
was a man of good understanding in the Scriptures, 
and he had pious parents to copy after. IJut all 
these will not produce grace. Repentance unto life 
is the gift of God ; it is in no man's power to repeat 



SO THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER ; 

of himself, nor can a true penitent infuse repentance 
into another. Notwithstanding his hating of religion, 
he had many severe checks of conscience at times, 
which he could not hide even from his parents ; they 
kept a strict hand over him in a religious way, and 
made him attend them at public ordinances, though 
fall sore against his will. 

He was their only child, and I believe a child of 
many prayers and tears ; for the state of his soul lay 
with a perpetual weight on his parents, and I be- 
lieve they travelled hard to see Christ formed within 
him. 

Ahimaaz. If he was so wickedly bent in heart; 
the more he knew of religion the greater was his sin ; 
men in a state of rebellion, with their heads fraught 
with religious knowledge, are like the renowned 
ones in the antediluvian world ; or like the Pharisees, 
who drew near to God with their lips, and honoured 
him with their lips, while their hearts were far from 
him. 

His poor parents must have grief enough to see an 
only child such an enemy to God. Pray, did his pa- 
rents live to see their prayers answered in his conver- 
sion ? I have no doubt but they were answered in 
their own bosom. 

Cu&hi. Their prayers were wonderfully answer- 
ed in their son's conversion, but they did not live to 
see the pleasing sight. 

Ahimaaz. But is it not astonishing that a child 
should display such a wretched bent to wickedness, 
in the face of so much piety, and practise it under 
the severe lashes of a guilty conscience? It is as if 
he was given up entirely to the devil, to sin in the 
open face of gospel light. 

Cushi. It is the eye of justice darting his rays 
on the guilty conscience that alarms it, and keeps it 
awake : The devil finding this, he cannot get such a 
soul into a state of carnal security, the strong man 
cannot keep possession of such a palace in peace; 



or, satan's law-suit with a saint. 81 

therefore, he stirs up the enmity of the mind to op- 
pose and resist the light; he blows up heat and pas- 
sion, and when he can get such an one to sin, it is in 
a desperate way, that he may sink the poor soul in 
despair, and so overwhelm him with guilt and hor- 
ror. The eye of justice is as terrible to Satan, and 
his dark kingdom, as it was to Pharoah and his host 
at the Red Sea. The devil hates the light of truth; 
hence it is that he so often stirs up the carnal mind 
of sinners, to hate those that long for their salvation; 
the light of truth discovers the sinners state, and Sa- 
tan's works, which he cannot endure. When our 
Lord sent his disciples out to spread the true light, 
Satan, with all his counterfeited lustre, sunk down 
and skulked into his own infernal shade " I saw Sa- 
tan as lightning fall from Heaven," Luke x. 18.—- 
This being the case, the devil is obliged to act with 
an awakened conscience as the highwayman does 
ivith the fearful traveller, do his business in haste, 
and be desperate in it. 

Ahimaaz. I almost wonder that our benign 
benefactor did not indulge the pious parents of this 
poor sinner with the pleasing sight of his conversion 
before their decease, as you know it must have great- 
ly excited their gratitude to God ; and the Lord says, 
he that offer eth me praise glorifteth me. 

"CiisHi. The Lord is a sovereign, and doth as he 
pleases ; yet several reasons may be assigned why 
the Lord did not thus indulge them ; First, as he 
was their only child, I think he engrossed too much 
of their affections : Secondly, they gave him too 
much indulgence in his childhood, which his rebel- 
lion requited them for : Thirdly, their travelling 
hard in prayer for him, brought many blessings on 
their own souls, and served as a spur to their devo- 
tions, under which they ripened for glory ; and lasdy, 
his cruel requital to his parents, helped forward his 
convictions, when God brought in his bill and laid 
him under a divine arrest. 



82 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER ; 

Ahimaaz. The conversion of this man affords a 
deal of encouragement to praying parents; and I 
believe it is right for believers to persevere in prayer 
for their children, notwithstanding the discourage- 
ments that they often meet with ; and, indeed the 
Messiah spoke a whole parable to this end, that vien 
ought always to pray and not to faint. 

Cushi. We ought to pray for them, and must 
leave the event to God, they that sozv in tears shall 
reap in joy. Many prayers and tears have been 
scattered about a throne of grace, that have been 
answered afterwards in a shower of blessings, Ezek. 
xxxiv. 26. And much seed has been sowed in sin- 
ners hearts, that for a while may seem to lie dor- 
mant, but afterwards it sheweth itself. " And he 
said, so is the kingdom of God, as if a man should 
cast seed into the ground, and should sleep, and rise, 
night and day, and the seed should spring and grow 
up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth 
forth fruit of herself, first the blade, then the ear,- 
after that the full corn in the ear," Mark iv. 26, 
27, 28. 

Ahimaaz. Pray how old was the youth when his 
parents died? Were they people of property? Did 
they leave him any thing ? 

Cushi. I believe he was about fifteen years of 
age at the death of his father, who left him an ap- 
prentice to an attorney at law, and left him w ith a 
very considerable property ; but he soon spent ' it, 
when he got it into his own hands, which 1 do not 
wonder at, for as the old people were dotingly fond 
of him, they were perpetually endeavouring to save 
what they could, in order to leave him in great pos- 
sessions ; and if I am rightly informed, their anx- 
iety in this matter was their sin ; and for my part, I 
do believe that whatsoever people get for their chil- 
dren, with an unwarrantable anxiety, so as to close 
the bowels of liberality to all but their own offspring, 
do greatly dishonour God by a visible distrust of 



or, satan's law-suit with a saint. 83 

his providence : and in reality, they entail a curse 
upon all that they leave ; and perhaps this was the 
reason why they had such strong bands in their 
death; God will purge the soul that he saves from 
sin, if it be by fire* 

Ahimaaz. Their putting their son out appren- 
tice to an attorney (a business in which it is impos- 
sible for a man to live, and keep a good conscience 
towards God,) and their carefulness after this world's 
goods, gives me room to suspect that divinity never 
made a very deep impression upon their souls ; for 
he that drinketh of the living water that the Saviour 
gives shall never thirst (after the riches of this life,) 
" But the water that I shall give him shall be in him 
a well of water springing up into everlasting life," 
John iv. 13, 14. Pray did you know them, or do 
you go by report? 

Cushi. I have seen them, but had no acquaint- 
ance with them ; though they are reported to be sin- 
gularly pious, yet I know it is not all gold that shines, 
nor are the/ all maids that pass for such, and wear 
white aprons. I know the best of saints are bur- 
dened with the remains o»f corrupt nature, which, at 
times, has broke out and left its spots in the bright- 
est characters, as incest in Lot, excess in Noah, adul- 
tery in David, and blasphemy in Peter ; yet there 
are some sins that they stand clear of, I mean such 
as are real partakers of the Holy Ghost. 

Ahimaaz. Pray, my brother, what are those sins 
that you suppose every inspired soul to stand free 
from ? For my part I would wish to stand for ever 
free from all ; for it is the death of all real comfort, 
as well as a great dishonour to God, and a sweet 
morsel to them that eat up the sin of God's people. 

Cushi. I think there are two sins which are not 
found in the dark catalogue of any gracious charac- 
ter in the Bible. One sin is what the law calls pre- 
sumption, Num. xv. 30. which David calls the great 
transgression^ Psalm xix. 13, which John calls the 



84 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNEK ; 

sin unto death, 1 John v. 16. but Christ calls it the 
unpardonable sin, Mat. xii. 31. 

The other sin is covetousness, for this sin God 
was wroth with Israel and smote him, and of this 
he promises to heal him, Isaiah lvii. 17, 18. Paul 
calls it the root of all evil, 1 Tim. vi. 10. and idola~ 
try, Col. iii. 5, which the Saviour calls the service 
of mammon, Mat. vi. 24 ; and pronounces a woe on 
all such servants, Luke vi. 24, 25. To the best of 
my knowledge, I do not remember that ever daring 
presumption, and the love of money, are once filed 
among many of the bills that God hath brought in 
against a real citizen of Zion ; his character excludes 
both these, Psalm xv. These are two sins against 
which David levels the force of his prayers, u keep 
back thy servant from presumptuous sins," Psalm 
xix. 13. " Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, 
and not to covetousness," Psalm cxix. 36. Both 
these are the devil's own maris, and I defy all the 
world to prove them to be marks of a saint ; where- 
eVer we find any thus marked, we may say, " They 
have corrupted themselves ; their spot is not the spot 
of the children (of God ;) they are a perverse and 
crooked generation," Deut. xxxii. 5. 

Ahim A az. I have often wondered why Paul calls 
the love of all money the root of all evil. The apos- 
tle seems to intimate, that one single root is sufficient 
to produce the whole crop of wickedness : I wonder 
what he makes the root of all godliness to be ? 

Cushi. The root of all vital godliness is the love 
of God, operating on the affections of a regenerate 
soul, and this love * s shed abroad in our hearts by 
the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us ; this is Paul's 
root, be ye " rooted and grounded in love*/' evi- 
dently alluding to our being grafted into the good 
olive tree Jesus Christ, who is the root and offspring 
of David, and the bright and "Morning Star." 
When a soul is brought to partake of the root and 



OR, SATASi S LAW-SUIT WITH A SAINT. 85 

fatness of the good olive tree ; the fruit gives evi- 
dence of its origin, and that it is the fruit of the 
Spirit of God, which is love, for God is love, and 
he that loveth is born of God — However, there were 
some graceless professors, who crept into the church 
at Laodicea unawares (except to the Lord who knew 
them,) covetous in practice, cursed children, who 
said I am rich, and increased with goods, and have 
need of nothing. Here was the love of money! under 
a pretended love of God, unto whom the Lord said, 
u [Thou] knowest not, that thou art wretched, and 
miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked," Rev. itu 
17. If these covetous professors were ignorant, 
wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked, they 
were as destitute of grace as ever Judas was; and 
if they were not graceless, they would not stand 
in need of being " counselled to buy the Saviour 
gold tried in the fire that they might be rich ; and 
white raiment that they might be clothed, and that 
the shame of their nakedness might not appear; and 
to anoint their eyes with eye-salve, that they might 
see," Rev. in. 18. 

The love of money, the root of all evil, can never 
be rooted in a soil where the love of God keeps a 
proper hold ; it is a sin that hell itself will never 
purge a soul from, any more than the sight of a gal- 
lows will destroy the love of evil in a felon who is 
going reluctantly to receive, at the hand of justice, 
the dreadful wages of unrighteousness, Rom. vi. 23. 

Mammon, that fallen angel, has been in the hor- 
rors of hell nigh six thousand yours, yet, to this day, 
he tempts thousands to covetousness, and thousands 
are influenced with his disposition ; yea, they serve 
him with delight, and are in friendship with him in 
hell, " And I say unto you, make to yourselves 
friends of the mammon of unrighteousness, that when 
ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habita- 
tions," Luke xvz. 10. Be not offended at mv assert- 
H 



83 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER 9 , 

Ing that hell itself will not purge a soul from sin ) 
hell is not intended to be a place of purgation, as 
some affirm, but a place of punishment. 2 Thes. i. 9. 

Ahimaaz. Well, I cannot contradict thee, my 
brother, but do let me hear a little of the conversion 
of Prodigals ; for I can take comfort in the repen- 
ance of a sinner, but to hear of their wickedness is 
rather a terror to me. 

Cushi. So can I; and am determined, through 
grace, to labour hard as long as I live to be instru- 
mental, if God please, in bringing sinners to repent- 
ance. After Mr. Prodigalis had wasted all his sub- 
stance with riotous living, he became melancholy, 
his past conduct began to recoil on his mind with 
the sensible impressions of guilt ; this quenched his 
popul ir spirit, and reduced his vigorous faculties to 
the gloomy recesses of silent solitude. Retirement 
best suited the melancholy frame of his mind ; he 
abandoned all company, and chose to wander in the 
most dreary paths, as judging himself unfit for so- 
ciety. In one of his solitary walks he was insensi- 
bly brought into a gloomy vale, where he was led in 
a vision to see the true state of his soul in the sight of 
God. This valley can only be seen in a vision : 
u The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried 
me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down 
in the midst of the valley which was full of dry 
bones, and caused me to pass by them round about ; 
and, behold, there were very many in the open val- 
ley ; and, lo, they were very dry. And he said unto 
me, Son of man, can these bones live?" Ezek. 
xxxvii. 1, 2, 3. In this valley he saw his awful 
state ; it was impressed upon his mind that the val- 
ley represented the fall of man, or the sinner's low 
estate. Psalm cxxxvi. 23. The bones represented 
death, the trophies of sin and Satan, Rom. v. 13; 
and their being very dry, exhibited the barren and 
fruitless state of a soul in the sight of God, which is - 



or, satan's law-suit with a saint. ST 

compared here to dry bones, and by the prophet 
Isaiah to dry ground, ha. xliv. 3, which represents 
the soul to be dead, without any affection to God, 
and without any motion toward him. 

Ahimaaz. Indeed that is the true state of a sin* 
ner before he be quickened by the Holy Ghost ; he 
is under the sentence of the law, and under the sen- 
tence of his own conscience ; as John declares, u He 
that believes not is condemned already,'' John iii. 
18. a He is subverted, and sinneth, being condemn- 
ed of himself," Tit. iii. 11. And with respect to 
life or motion toward God, he hath none ; as the 
apostle witnesseth, " You hath he quickened who 
were dead in trespasses and sins," Eph. iu 1, and 
1 believe the Saviour meant this when he said to one 
of his disciples, let the dead bury their dead^ but go 
thou and preach the kingdom of God ; certainly he 
meant, let those that are dead in trespasses and sins 
bury those that departed this life in their sins, or in 
an unpardoned state. 

Cushi. What you have have said is true ; man, 
fallen man, is dead m law, and under the sentence 
of it, and spiritually dead to God, destitute of all 
good, either feeling, afFection, or motion ; and as he 
daily heaps up sin upon sin, so treasuring up wrath 
against the day of wrath. The scriptures represent 
him as buried in his own transgressions : a Then he 
said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole 
house of Israel ; behold, they say, our bones are 
dried, and our hope is lost, we are cut off for our 
parts. Therefore prophecy, and say unto them, 
thus saith the Lord God, behold, O my people, I 
will open your graves, and cause you to come up 
out of your graves, and bring you into the land of 
Israel. And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when 
I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought 
you up out of your graves. And shall put my spi- 
ll, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in 



88 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER ; 

your own land; then shall ye know that I the Lord 
have spoken it, and performed it saith the Lord," 
Ezek. xxxvii. 11, 14. Thus my dear brother, you 
see thy loxv estate of man, represented by this valley ; 
his spiritual death by the bones ; his spiritual death, 
I say, for these men were not literally dead; the 
barrenness of his soul while in an hopeless state, is 
represented by the dryness of the bones ; and the 
transgressions that his soul is involved in, by the 
graves; and his spiritual resurrection, is by the pow- 
er of God — / will bring you up out of your graves ; 
and the quickening of his dead soul is done by the 
Spirit — I shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live 

Ahim a az. I bless God that ever I met with thee. 
The Lord has given thee a blessed talent for open- 
ing the scriptures. You have made this matter very 
plain to me. Let the free-wilier boast of his will 
and power as much as he will, God in that vision 
represents man destitute of both ; and a soul dead to 
God, and buried in his own transgressions, can do 
no more toward his own spiritual resurrection, than 
a dead corpse can do toward the resurrection of the 
body. God says he brings them out of their graves, 
and he puts his spirit in them ; no call for this if a 
man hath will and power sufficient of his own ; to the 
power of God, and the spirit of his grace, is ascri- 
bed the quickening and conversion of every saint in 
the Bible ; but not one inspired penman in all God's 
book ever boasted of his natural will or power, or 
ever attributed any thing that accompanies salvation 
to either, but to the sovereign will and omnipotent 
power of God only. 

Cushi. Why you begin to talk an orthodox di- 
vine; that is " a sound speech that cannot be con* 
demned," Tit. ii. 8. 

A free-wilier can no more raise himself up, and 
go to the Saviour by his own power, than a dead 
corpse can raise itself out of the grave and go to 



on, satan's law-suit with a sai>.t. S l J 

judgment seat. It requires more power to quicken 
and raise up a dead soul to spiritual life, than it does 
to raise up a dead body. The mouldered dust will 
make no more resistance than the passive earth did 
while God formed Adam ; but the rebellious soul 
will resist to the last; like a desperate criminal under 
sentence, it will kill or be killed. 

Xo sooner does the eye of justice dart a ray on 
the guilty conscience, but, like the Egyptians, he 
flies: "The Lord looked upon the host of the 
Egyptians through the pillar of fire, so that* the 
Egyptians said, let us flee," Exod. xiv. 24, 25. 
Thus the " sinner rebels against the light," Job 
xxiv. 13. " He that doeth evil hateth the light, 
neither cometh he to the light, lest his deeds should 
be reproved." John iii. 20. Here is the strong op~ 
}>osition from the enmity of the mind ; the poor sleep- 
ing dust of the body will never make this resistance. 
When the Lord speaketh, " Earth, disclose your 
blood, and no more cover your slain," Isa. xxvi. 
21, it is done, " they shall move out of their holes 
like worms of the earth," Micah vii. 1 7 ; here is no 
more resistance than what the power of the worm 
represents. But when God comes to raise a dead 
soul, not only the understanding skulks from the 
light, but every faculty is engaged in the opposition. 
Let God give a positive command, and he receives 
an answer pregnant with the utmost resentment. — 
" Son, go work to-day in my vineyard. He answer- 
ed, and said, I will not." Matt. xxi. 28, 29. Let 
a minister represent the excellency and suitableness 
of a Saviour, and the answer is, " He hath no form 
nor comliness, and when we see him there is no 
beauty that we should desire him." Isa. liii. 2, 
Tims the carnal understanding shuns the rays of 
light, the mind discovers its enmity, the will ex- 
presses the utmost resentment, and the affections are 
altogether alienated from God, and fixed upon one 
h 2 



90 1'IIE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER ) 

idol or other; some dote on pleasure, others on 
wealth, others upon honour, others upon human learn- 
ing, and all upon sin. Not one thought for God, 
until an almighty power take it prisoner, and by love 
make it a willing captive ; " Our weapons are not 
carnal, but mighty, through God, to bring into cap- 
tivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." 2 
Cor. iv. 5. 

Ahimaaz. Why, this is God's testimony of human 
frailty, and what every eminent saint in the bible has 
confessed and confirmed, by the long catalogue of 
their own sinful weaknesses ; but is it not amazing 
that men will daringly give the testimony of God 
and his saints the lie, by crying up the will and pow- 
er of fallen man, to believe, to come, and to close 
in with the Saviour ? 

Cushi. As for the Saviour, they ought to leave 
him quite out of the question. If man is not fallen 
there is no call for help ; if he be not dead, there is 
no need of the gift of eternal life ; if man has a 
will, no call for God to make him willing ; if he has 
u power of his own, no call for a divine power to 
be put forth ; and if he be not lost, no call for sal- 
vation by grace : but, alas ! they are like the Ro- 
man catholics, whose hearts may be compared to a 
field of battle, where pride and conscience are at 
war all the year round. Ask a papist how he is to 
be justified ? Pride answers, by works. Ask if he 
ran keep the law ? The answer is, Yes ; and gave 
it an obedience that exceeds the command, even 
works of supertl-ogation, more than the law re- 
quires ; ask conscience what she thinks of justifica- 
tion, and acceptance with God by superabounding 
works; and her answer will be this, you must judge 
of our heart by our actions. If we thought that our 
works would justify us, and bring in God himself a 
debtor to us (as we talk), we should not be at the 
pains of praying to thirty or forty mediators and i&» 



OR, SATAN'S LAW-SUIT WITH A SAINT. 91 

tercessors ; nor should we buy pardons and absolu- 
tions, nor give such large sums to trading priests to 
pray 7 us out of hell when we are dead ; you would 
hear nothing of this if all were right within ; there- 
fore you must judge of our faith by these fruits. 
Just so it is with an Arminian ; let conscience gripe 
him, and he talks of the righteousness of Christ and 
free grace ; but if a few dead works make consci- 
ence lie quiet, then pride and self-w T ill contradict all 
that conscience said; this appears throughout all 
their writings : thus they rebel in the face of truth, 
and oppose the verdict and sentence of their own 
thoughts and conscience. It requires a greater 
power to raise a dead soul to the life of faith, than 
to raise a dead body to life and action. 

Lazarus, come forth t the command was instantly 
obeyed, though the body was fettered with a wind- 
ing-sheet ; " he that was dead came forth bound 
hand and foot with grave-clothes, and his face was 
bound about with a napkin," Johnxi. 43, 44. 

Ahimaaz. According to your account of popery 
and Arminianism, which you seem to view as one 
system, they are under the same contest that Nico- 
demus was ; his conscience told him that Jesus was 
the great Messiah ; this he owned, " we believe 
that thou art a teacher come from God, for no man 
can do the miracles that thou doest, except God be 
with him." And yet his pride opposed his consci- 
ence ; have any of the rulers believed on him? and if 
I go to him for tuition, what becomes of my infalli- 
bility and reputation ? Thus he stands at the straight 
gate, and his own pride made the straight. Had 
he obeyed the voice of the inward testimony that 
the Saviour's miracles produced, without consulting 
his reputation, " he would have been removed out 
of that straight into a broad place, where there is no 
straightness," Job. xxxvu 16. But in order to 
keep up his reputation, and palm his conscience too, 



92 THE JUSTIFICATION Of A SINNER ; 

he acts the part of Guy Faux, goes by night, until he 
sees the crucifixion of the Saviour, and the judg- 
ments that attended his dying cry. Then he ap- 
pears, and publicly owns the dead temple, though 
before ashamed to own the living God, that for a- 
bove thirty years had dwelt in it, and displayed 
no less than omnipotent power from it. His 
pride procured him just cause for cutting regret. 

Ahimaaz. Indeed, my brother, u the fear of 
man bringeth a snare ; but whoso putteth his trust in 
the Lord shall be safe," Prov. xxix. 25. And I 
believe thousands have been, and still are, taken in 
that snare ; " they love (as the Saviour says) the 
praise of men, more than the praise of God," John 
xii. 43. This is awful, as the Lord declares, that 
" whosoever shall be ashamed of him and of, his 
words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of 
him also shall the Son of Man be ashamed, when he 
shall come in the glory of his Father with the holv 
angels," Mark viii. 38. But do let me hear a little 
more of the Lord's proceedings with Prodigalis, for 
1 dearlv love to hear of converting work going on. 

Cushi. Why, blessed be God, he is alive from 
the dead, as the Scripture says, u Blessed and holy 
is he that hath part in the first resurrection ; on such 
the second death hath no power," Rev. xx. 6. 

Ahimaaz. Pray what do you suppose the Holy 
Ghost means by that text? does he mean the pre-emi- 
nence of the Saints at the general resurrection ? or 
does he mean the Saints rising to newness of life by 
the quickening power of the Holy Ghost at regene- 
ration ? 

Cushi. Doubtless, the pre-eminence of the 
Saints at the general resurrection is implied, because 
it is revealed, that " the dead in Christ shall rise 
first," 1 Thess. iv. 16. The Saint shall have the 
pre-eminence in that day. This their [wicked] way 
jsl their folly, yet their posterity approve their say- 



OR, satan's law-suit with a saint, 93 

ings ; u like sheep they are laid in the grave ; death 
shall feed on ihem ; and the' upright shall have do- 
minion over them in the morning," Ps. xlix. 14. 
Thus you see, the dead in Christ shall rise first : the 
upright shall have dominion in that morning, when 
the u Sun of righteousness shall arise ; as the light- 
ning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto 
the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of 
Man be." Matth. xxiv. 27. 

Ahimaaz. Pray what is meant by the dead in 
Christ ? 

Cushi. There are two heads, who represent all 
the offspring of Adam ; and every individual dies a 
member, in union with one of those heads. The 
man that believes in Christ, hath righteousness and 
strength in Christ ; and being joined to Christ, is of 
one spirit with him : " he that is joined to the Lord 
is one spirit," 1 Cor. vi. 17. By virtue of his spiri- 
tual union, he is a part of the mystical " body of 
Christ, and a member in particular," 1 Cor. xii. 27. 
This union was from all eternity between Christ and 
the elect ; but it is not revealed till regeneration ; 
blessed are they that follow the Lord u in the rege- 
neration ; they shall sit on thrones" Matth. xviii. 28. 

As members of Christ by grace, and in union 
with him by the spirit, they live in this world ; and 
as his members in union they accordingly die, 
hence they are^said to die in him. u Blessed are 
the dead that die in the Lord, from henceforth ; yea, 
saith the spirit, that they may rest from their la- 
bours, and their works do follow them," Rev* xiv. 
1 3. Persons thus departed are called by the apostle, 
u the dead in Christ." 

Christ is called the u second Adam, the Lord from 
heaven, the quickening spirit ;" and those that die 
members of this heavenly head, are to be like him ; 
" as is the heavenly [head], such are they also that 
are heavenly" [members], 1 Con xv. 48. " And a* 



94 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER ; 

we have borne the image of the earthly [head before 
conversion], we shall also bear the image of the hea- 
venly" [head being converted], 1 Cor. xv. 49. 

On the other hand, Adam is the fallen head of all 
that are in the flesh, or in their first-born state' — 
never born again of the spirit ; hence they are call- 
ed fleshly children ; that is, " they are the children 
of the flesh, these are not the children of God," 
Rom. ix. 8. 

Christ and Adam are the two heads, the repre- 
sentatives of all the children of men : u And so it is 
written, the first man Adam was not made a living 
soul ; the last Adam a quickening spirit," 1 Cor. xv. 
45. These are the two heads ; one is called spiri- 
tual and the other natural, verse 46. Christ is the 
head of all the elect, they were chosen in him ; and 
Adam is the head of all the reprobate : " The first 
man is of the earth, earthly, the second man is the 
Lord from heaven," verse 47. Those that die in 
their first born state, die members of fallen Adam, 
and are in the flesh, being destitute of the spirit ; 
such " are not the ehildren of God, but of the flesh, 
and flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of 
God," 1 Cor. xv. 50. 

These are said not to fall asleep in the Lord, but 
to die, yea forever ; " if ye live after the flesh ye 
shall die," Rom. viii. 13, and if so, they die in their 
sins. This is the case with every unbeliever ; " If 
ye believe not that I AM, ye shall die in your sins," 
John viii. 24. Those expressions I AM signify the 
self-existence, self-complacence, independence, and 
eternity of Jehovah the Saviour. The pronoun / 
excludes all others in point of dependence ; and the 
word AM excludes both the past and the future 
tenses, and Is expressive of his eternity. This name- 
was revealed before the human nature was assumed, 
u And God said unto Moses, I AM that I AM ; 
and he said, thus shalt thou say unto the childre 



OR. SATAN'S LAW-SUIT WITH A SaINT. 95 

Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. And God 
said moreover unto Moses, thus shalt thou say unto 
the children of Israel, the Lord God of your fathers, 
the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the 
God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you ; this is my 
name for ever, and th]6 my memorial unto all gen- 
erations." Exod. iii. 14, 15. The first verse in- 
cludes the self-existence and eternity of our Sa- 
viour's deity ; the second verse includes him as the 
God, the guard, and portion of all the faithful, as he 
was to Abraham ; the portion of every heir of pro- 
mise, as he was to Isaac ; and of every prevailer, 
with him in prayer, as he was to Jacob. His reveal- 
ing himself the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, 
excludes Ishmael and Esau, to shew he is not the 
God of the dead, but of thriving, Matt. xxii. 32* 
This name the Saviour applies to himself — If ye be- 
lieve not that I AM, ye shall die in your sins, 

Ahimaaz. You differ much in principles from 
the Arian. 

Cu^hi. The Arian never knew the Lord, there- 
fore he had better let him alone ; his case is des- 
perate ; he has but one ground of hope left accord- 
ing to his own creed. 

Ahimaaz. Pray what is that? 

Cushi . Why if the Saviour's testimony be a lie, 
and if the whole Bible be false, there is ground of 
hope for him ; but if God the Father's testimony be 
true, Heb. i. 8, if the Holy Ghost's witness be true, 
Matt. xxii. 43, 44, if the witness of angels be true, 
Luke ii. 11, and if the Saviour's witness be true, 
Rev. i. 3, he must be damned; " If ye believe not 
that / AM\ ye shall die in your sins ; and he that 
believes not shall be damned," Mark xvi. 16. Thus, 
if Father, Son, and Spirit, have borne a false testi- 
mony, there is hope for the Arian ; but if a true 
one, he " has brought in a damnable heresy, even 
denying the Lord that bought us, and shall bring upon 
himself swift destruction," 2 Pet. ii. 1. 



96 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER J 

Ahimaaz. I beg pardon, my brother, for break- 
ing in upon your discourse, but I observed that in 
your description of the two heads and representa- 
tives of the two families, which are called children 
of promise, and children of the flesh, you seem 
to differ in judgment from many learned men; 
I mean upon the apostle's words— "1 or since 
by man came death, by man came also the re- 
surrection of the dead. For as in Adam a 1 die 
even so in Christ shall all be made alive, 1 Cor 
xv 21 22. Many learned men from that text 
attempt' to prove the death of all mankind in the first 
Adam, and the resurrection to life of all mankind m 
Christ the second Adam. p 

Cushi. If all die in Adam, there is not a soul 
in heaven; and if aft are made alive in Christ, 
there is not a soul in hell. The proposition in 
implies tinted and the particle all implies mem- 
bers. To handle the text otherwise is contra- 
dicting and giving the lie to a third part of the Bi- 
ble The elect do not die in Adam, for he never 
was the chosen head of God's elect nor were the 
elect chosen in him ; and although they fell in the 
first Adam, they are not restored m or by him; tor 
£ had life in the second Adam before ever 
they fell in the first. They that die m Adam, die 
eternally, for he is not the spiritual head ; and vhey 
that die in Christ live eternally, for he is their vital 
head ; God is not the God of the dead, but of the hv- 
ins: Whichever head a man dies in, he will arise 
in the image and order of that head ; « * or as in A 
dam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made ahy : 
But every man in his own order, 1 Cor. xv. %s. 
When the Saviour says to the wicked, Depart 
from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared 
for the devil and his angels," Matt. xxv. 41, willany 
man say that those are made alive in Christ W Ana 
yet, upon a single particle, the whole mystery o* 



or, satan's law-suit with a saint. 97 

universal redemption is raised ; and the salvation of 
all the world established. But does not the judge 
of quick and dead handle the text as I have done ? 
Does he not bless those that are in him, and curse 
those that are in Adam's fall I If such a universal 
doctrine could be preached in hell, there is not a re- 
probate there but would give it the lie, 

Ahimaaz. You have satisfied me, my brother, 
and I see the Saviour on the judgment seat confirms 
your sense of the text ; and as the Saviour's decision 
justifies you, you cannot be wrong ; let men put 
what construction they will upon a text, if the Sa- 
viour contradicts it at the day of judgment, it is 
false. 

But do let me hear a little more of Prodigalis ; 
we left him, if you remember dead in the valley of dry 
bones ; and you promised to relate his spiritual re- 
surrection, which I should be glad to hear, and 
whether there be any analogy between the first and 
the second resurrection. 

Cushi. There is a just analogy; I have shewed 
you that a sinner is spiritually dead and buried from 
the prophecy of Ezekiel, even as the body is dead 
and buried in a grave of earth. An unbeliever, though 
a chosen vessel, is said to be asleep in his sins, as a 
dead body sleeps in the grave, and both must be 
awakened and raised. The Saviour speaks of both 
these, as it were, in one breath; of the spiritual re- 
surrection he speaketh thus, " Verily, verily, I say 
unto you, the hour is coming, and now is (come,) 
when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of 
God, and they that hear shall live," John v. 25. Of 
the resurrection of the body he speaketh after this 
manner — " Marvel not at this ; for the hour is com- 
ing in the which all that are in the graves • shall hear 
his voice, and shall come forth ; thev that have done 
good unto the resurrection of life, and thev thai have 
done evil unto the resurrection of damnation," John 



98 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER ,* 

v. 28, 29. The dead bodies are to be alarmed by the 
sound of the archangel's trumpet ; " For the Lord 
himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, 
with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump 
of God,' 5 1 Thes. iv. 16. A gospel minister is called 
an angel. Rev. iii. i. Preaching the alarming word 
of God, is called sounding the trumpet ;- — u Blow ye 
the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my 
holy mountain ; let all the inhabitants of the land 
tremble ; for the day of the Lord cometh ; for it is 
nigh at hand," Joel ii. 1. 

This was the case with Prodi galis ; there came a 
zvaich-?nan into the valley of dry bones, and sounded 
the trumpet, which alarmed the conscience of the 
poor man — he heard the sound of the trumpet, 
Ezek. xxxiii. 5. Thus the dead soul is alarmed by 
the angel's trumpet, as dead bodies are to be. Se- 
condly, the sleeping body is not only to be alarmed, 
but it is to be awakened, and brought to judgment;— 
" And many of them that sleep in the dust of the 
earth shall wake, some to everlasting life, and some 
to shame and everlasting contempt," Dan. xii. 2. 
Thus the sleeping body is awakened and brought to 
judgment; so in like manner is the sleeping sinner 
awakened and brought to the light, which is God ; 
for God is light ; — u Awake thou that sleepest, and 
arise from the dead, and Christ shall give the light," 
Eph. v* 14. Thirdly, the archangel's trumpet is to 
be attended with the powerful voice of the Saviour 
— u All that are in their graves shall hear his voice 
and come forth." The gospel trumpet is attended 
by the same voice — " The time is now come when 
the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God." 

Thus you see that as the departed body is said to 
be dead, to be asleep, and to be in the grave ; so an 
unconverted soul is said to be dead, to be asleep, and 
to be in the grave also. In raising the body an 
angel is employed, Matt. xxiv. 31. a trumpet is 
bounded, 1 Cor. xv. 52. the Lord's voice is heard, 



OR, satan's law-suit with a saint. 99 

John v. 28. the body is alarmed, awakened, Dan* 
xii. 2. raised up, 1 Cor. xv. 52. and brought to 
judgment, Eccl. xi. 9. So in raising a dead soul, an 
angel by office is employed, Rev. iii. 1. the gospel 
trumpet is sounded, Isaiah xxvii. 13. the Lord's 
voice is heard, John v. 25. the soul is alarmed, Joel, 
ii. 1. it is awakened, Eph. v. 14. raised Eph. ii. 
6. and brought forth to the light, and God is 
light, to be arraigned and chastened for his iniquity, 
that he may be justified here, and not condemned in 
the great day ; — u But when we are judged, we are 
chastened of the Lord, that we should not be con- 
demned with the world," 1 Cor. xi. 82. 

This was the case with Prodigalis ; his consci- 
ence was alarmed, his understanding awakened, and 
the Lord's voice quickened his dead soul to feel his 
guilt ; he was raised from his carnal security, and 
brought forth from a state of spiritual death and in- 
sensibility ; and after this he took his trial as really 
as any will do in the day of judgment. And at the 
general judgment, when the Judge is seated, the 
hooks will be opened, Dan. vii. 10. and so poor Pro- 
digalis found at his trial, for both law, gospel, and 
conscience were point blank against him. 

Ahimaaz. Then, according to your account, 
•here is not only a first and second resurrection, but 
a first and last judgment also. 

Cushi. There certainly is ; and the word justifi- 
cation implies a trial here ; the elect are tried in 
this life, and justified by faith in the Saviour. Hence 
they are said to pass from death to life, and shall 
never come into condemnation ; which implies, that 
there was a ministration of death that they were 
arraigned at, and found dead under, and a sentence 
that they escaped; else how could they pass from 
death to life by faith, and forever escape condem- 
nation ? 

Ahimaaz. I do not remember any passage of 
scripture that favours your opinion* 



100 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER; 

Cushi. I think there are many scriptures that 
favour it; "For the time is come that judgment 
must begin at the house of God; and if it first 
begin at us, what shall be the end of them that obey 
not the gospel of God ? And if the righteous scarcely 
be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner ap- 
pear?" 1 Pet. iv. 17, 18. In that text the destruc- 
tion of Israel by the Romans may be implied, 
which was to begin at the temple or house of God ; 
but Peter was no part of that, therefore more is 
intended by Peter's saying, Judgment begins at us. 
The destruction of the temple was a fulfilment of 
this prophecy — " Slay utterly old and young, both 
maids, little children, and women, and begin at my 
sanctuary," Ezek. ix. 5, 6. Secondly, the arraign- 
ment, and martyrdom of the saints may be implied 
in that text, but the spiritual judgment of the elect 
in this world is not excluded ; nor is it excluded in 
the following text — a For this cause was the gospel 
preached also to them that are dead, that they might 
be judged according to men in the flesh, but live 
according to God in the Spirit," 1 Pet* iv. 6. 

The Lord had often discovered himself as an 
angry judge to a sinner from the pulpit; and has 
spoke to his conscience by the preacher, sufficient to 
convince him of his awful state; even his inmost 
thoughts have been discovered and laid open, and he 
has found himself in the powerful hand, and at the 
very bar of God, convicted of all his crimes, the 
very sentence sounding in his ears, and his soul 
sinking into all the horrors of a condemned crimi- 
nal ; which has made him tremble no less than a 
condemned sinner will do in the day of judgment ; 
as it is written, u But if ye prophecy, and there 
come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned, he 
Is convinced of all, he is judged of all; and thus 
are the secrets of his heart made manifest ; and so, 
falling down on his face, he will worship God, and 



or, satan's law-suit with a saint. 101 

report that God is in you of a truth," 1 Cor. xiv 
24, 25. 

Thus you see the operation of the word and spirit 
of God ; when the Lord speaketh to the heart, the. 
rebel is arraigned, judged, and condemned, both by 
law and conscience, — and would sink to all eternicy, 
if God did not impute an everlasting righteousness 
to him ; but the chosen sinner has an advocate, and 
therefore his trial does not end in eternal death, but 
in a fatherly chastisement ; as it is written — - u But 
when we are judged we are chastened of the Lord, 
that we should not be condemned with the world," 
1 Cor. xi. 31, 32. 

Ahimaaz. I would wish to hear the trial of Pro- 
digalis, if my brother would relate it; and pray be 
so kind as to bring in the word of God to show the 
consistency of his arraignment therewith ; for you 
know that must be the touchstone that all things 
must be tried by ; even the spirit, the practice, and 
the principles of a believer must be tried by that. 

Cushi. Very true; and I shall be glad to prove 
the trial, and the justification of this poor sinner, by 
that immutable standard. After Prodigalis had 
been alarmed., awakened, quickened to feel his 
guilt, and raised out of his dead state of carnal se- 
curity, he gave himself wholly up to retirement and 
melancholy, as being fit company for none but those 
of the same cast In one of his solitary walks he 
came to a lonely grove, which is well known to 
thousands ; and having a clear view, and a feeling 
sense of his lost estate, " he lift up his voice and 
wept, and he called the name of that place Bochim," 
yudges ii. 4, 5. and it is called the place of mourners 
to this day. 

At the end of mourning grove there -is a little 

valley, and on the south side of it, at the foot of an 

hill, is a little enclosed spot, walled round, and 

planted with dwarf evergreens. Prodigalis at- 

I 2 



102 THE JUSTIFICATION' OF A SINNER : 

tempted an entrance into it, but met with a rebuff, 
and had the gate shut against him* He then made 
an attempt to climb over the wall, but he felt himself 
sensibly resisted — GgcI resisteth the proud. This 
wrought such distraction and confusion in his mind, 
that he fainted away, and lay for some hours in a 
trance, during which time he had a vision ; — " He 
saw by night, and behold, a man riding upon a red 
horse, and he stood among myrtle trees that were 
in the bottom, and behind him were red horses span- 
gled and white," Zech. i. 3. 

Prodigalis had the use of all his faculties ;« — but 
whether he was in the body, or out of it, he could 
not tell. His mind was impressed with awful thoughts 
of the grand assize ; and the horses that he saw in 
ihe vision he took to belong to the retinue of his 
judge, who w r as visiting those parts in his perpetual 
circuit. And indeed he was not mistaken, for the 
horses belonged to the chariots of God, and were a 
part of " the twenty thousand that always attended 
him," Psalm lxviii. 17. The poor man was forci- 
bly seized, and led in the vision by a strong hand 
to a lofty hill, the top of which was covered with a 
pillar of smoke ; the middle of it was all on a flame 
of firs, and just under the fire hung a heavy dark 
cloud ; before that cloud Prodigalis was placed ; — 
nor was it in his power to move one step from it, 
u though he fain would have fled out of his hand," 
Job xxvii. 22. 

Out of the midst of that black cloud a supernatu- 
ral light broke forth, and forcibly darted its beams 
on the whole soul of Prodigalis. As soon as this 
light shone upon him, all the corruptions of his heart 
boiled up, " as the fire causeth the water to boil," 
Isa. lxv* 2. — u His iniquities were set before his 
judge, and his secret sins in the light of his counte- 
nance/' Ps. xc. 8. He saw himself in his true co- 
louks indeed : for his polluted sosl was discovered 



or, satan's law-suit with a saint. 103 

in such a loathsome condition, that no leper was ever 
so corrupted in body as he appeared to be in soul ; 
"from head to foot there was no soundness, — all 
was wounds, bruises, and putrifying sores," Isa. i. 6. 
he was a leper in the worse sense, and many " filthy 
rags he had laid on to cover his wounds," Isaiah 
lxiv. 6. But, alas, his spiritual defilements, and his 
legal coverings, were both of a piece, insomuch that 
he might truly be said to be " clothed with filthy gar- 
ments," Zech. iii. 3. 

In this deplorable and most miserable condition, 
he found an accuser standing close to him upon the 
right hand ; — and he infused into his mind such an 
enmity against the light that shined, and suggested 
such evils and hard thoughts against the judge as 
are shocking to mention. Thus stood Prodigalis, 
4 '• clothed in his filthy garments," filled with shame 
and confusion of face, even u before the angel of the 
Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist 
him," Zech. iii. 1. 

In this perishing state, bitten with the gnawing 
worm of a guilty conscience, he found another ene- 
my on his left side, threatening every moment to put 
a period to his existence ; and if that had been per- 
mitted, he was sure that his accuser would gain an 
awful conquest over him, and an eternal possession of 
him. No free-will, no human power, no self-right- 
eousness can stand here ; — Prodigalis found this ; — 
these things blasted all his supposed power and free- 
will ; " His strength was hunger bitten, and destruc- 
tion was ready at his side. This devoured the 
strength of his skin ; the first born of death devoured 
his strength," Job. xviii. 12, 13. Now I will leave you 
to guess at the sensations of Prodigalis ; thus fixed 
in the presence of God, with all his sins in the light 
of God's countenance, covered with guilt and filth, 
Satan at his right hand, and destruction at his left. 

Aklmaaz. A deplorable state indeed; but this is 
not the case with all sinners* 



104 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A filNNEH ; 

Cushi. There is not an unconverted soul in the 
world, as the lord liveth, but what is in this state, 
whether he know it or not ; and this he will find in 
a dying hour,— his sins will stare him in his face- 
destroying death will appear at his left hand, and 
Satan at his right, if he die out of Christ ; and as 
sure as death cuts him off in his sin, so sure Satan 
seizes the prey, he is " delivered up to the tormentor," 
and has a distant view of the burning throne of God 
— «" Then shall the spirit return to God who gave it;" 
and receive the sentence, u Depart from me ; I know 
ye not." 

Prodigalis being thus arraigned at the bar, with 
his accuser at his right hand, and his executioner on 
his left, his judgment proceeded: there appeared a 
man under the burning light, that took out a sort of 
post-bag, in which were the indictments of Prodiga- 
lis—" His transgressions were sealed up in that bag, 
God had sewed up his iniquity," Job xiv. 17. And 
now the bag was brought forth, and unsealed-—" and 
lo the roll of a book was found therein ; and it was 
spread before him ; and it was written within and 
without; and there was written therein lamentations, 
and mourning, and woe," Ezek. ii. 9, 10. 

Ahimaaz* Pray who was clerk of the peace ? 
Who was he that read the indictment ? 

Cus&i. Moses reads the indictments, enrolls the 
acts, and draws the process ; but a man whose name 
was Conscience appeared as clerk of the assize, and 
produced many things that had been done in vari- 
ous circuits ; he was clerk of the crown also, for he 
had framed and recorded many indictments, which 
were all now produced. 

Ahimaaz. Pray what was his indictment? Who 
had impeached him ? 

Cushi. There were several indictments against 
him. First, he was accused of transgressing all the 
laws of his sovereign ; secondly, of private conspi - 



or, satan's law-suit with a saint. 105 

racy, and rebellion against the king's person ; third- 
ly, of high treason ; and fourthly, of murder, &c. 
as shall be shewed in the process. First the roll of 
lamentation, mourning, and woe, was read in the 
order following : Thou art indicted, by the name of 
Prodigalis, for adhering to an unlawful sovereign, 
for " sin had reigned in his heart," Rom. v. 21. — 
Thou hast been disloyal to the king, and hast set up 
another in opposition to him — u he had set up an 
idol in his heart," Ezek. xiv. 4. Thou hast opened 
thy mouth against his majesty, and spoken lightly 
and vainly of his name and person. Thou hast pro- 
faned the days of r.st— the jubilee days— fast days — 
and all the days of festivity. Thou art charged 
with disobedience to thy progenitors, and with the 
dreadful crime of murder; thou hast hated thy bro- 
ther for his loyalty, which is murder conceived in 
the heart. Thou art charged with adultery, and 
with theft; with speaking falsely of thy neighbour, 
and coveting his property after thou hadst wasted 
thine own. What sayest thou to these indictments ? 
Art thou guilty, or not? 

Ahimaaz. Pray what did the poor soul say ? I 
have such a feeling for him, I long to hear his deli- 
verance ; for I fancy myself at the very bar. Did he 
plead not guilty? 

Cushi. No, he could not do that, for the judge 
himself was a swift witness against him, as it is 
written, " And I will come near to you to judgment ; 
and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, 
the. adulterers, and the false swearers," Mai. iii. 5. 
Besides, Conscience, who was clerk of the crown, 
had framed and recorded many indictments against 
him : for he had been privately arraigned and found 
guilty several times before ; therefore to plead inno . 
cent would have been giving the l^e both to God and 
conscience; and who against these can be heard: 



106 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER ; 

He neither pleaded guilty nor innocent ; he held 
his hands before his face to hide his fallen counte- 
nance, and trembled at every joint ; for he had not 
(to his knowledge) one friend in all the court. The 
indictment was read, wherein he was charged with 
private conspiracy and rebellion ; this he could not 
deny, for the accuser who stood at his right hand 
was the very enemy that drew him into that conspi- 
racy; as it is recorded—- 44 that they may recover 
themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are 
taken captive by him at his will," 2 Tim. ii. 26. 

Ahimaaz. Why sure the cursed wretch did not 
drag the poor soul into rebellion, and then turn the 
king's evidence, did he ? 

Cushi. He is one that can turn any way but the right. 
He will swear and lie too for nothing ; howbeit the 
king stands in no need of his evidence, nor does he 
get his own neck out of the halter by all his turning. 
The rebellion that the prisoner was charged with 
was, that he had not only opposed the universal 
monarch himself, but that he had endeavoured to 
put loyalists to shame — expose their obedience to 
contempt— and persecute them for their close attach- 
ment to the crown and dignity of their rightful sove- 
reign. His treason consisted in speaking evil of the 
king ? yea, he had even gone so far in his desperate 
rebellion, as to give him the lie to his face — " for he 
that believes not has made him a liar," 1 John 
v. 10. 

When the poor prisoner looked up and saw Mo- 
ses his accuser before him just under the judgment 
seat, and justice with his drawn sword close by him; 
Satan standing at his right hand, and death at his 
left, his 44 spirit would have failed from before his 
judge, and the soul that God had made,'* Isaiah 
lvii. 16, had he not been upheld by a divine power ; 
for he knew that as soon as Moses had finished his 
accusation, the sentence must be passed ; Justice 



6r, satan's law-suit with a saint. 107 

would order the executioner to cut him down, and 
deliver the rebel to the tormentor, and then woe to 
him for ever. What to do he knew not ; plead in- 
nocent he dared not ; he was drove to his wits end ; 
his hair stood erect upon his head, and his heart was 
so pregnant with grief and horror, that he feared it 
would burst in his body. The burden of his sin, 
and the fear of death, overwhelmed him ; for he 
knew that in the sight of his judge no flesh living' 
:ould ever be justified* 

Moses began his accusation thus: Thou hast 
been a stubborn stiff-necked rebel ever since I knew 
thee. I had set before thee life and deaths and told 
thee to choose life that it might be well with thee, 
and that thou mightest prolong thy days ; but thou 
hast been one void of counsel, a perverse one, in 
whom is no faith. I told thee that thou shouldest 
find no rest for the soles of thy feet — that thy life 
should hang in doubt before thee — and that thou 
shouldest have no assurance of thy life ; that the 
heavens should be iron over thy head, and the earth 
brass beneath thy feet ; and that in the morning thou 
shouldst say, would God it were night; and at night, 
would God it were morning ; — all these things thou 
kncwest stand on record in my law. But thou h^st 
cast all my words behind thy back, therefore thou 
must now expect the consequence — " Cursed be he 
that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do 
them," Deut. xxvii. 26. Dost thou think that the 
law. shall be made void for thee ? Shall an eternal 
act be repealed to screen a rebel ? Shall a divine sen- 
tence be revoked ? Shall divine truth stand in deri- 
sion, or be exposed to scorn and contempt, or 
charged with falshood to save an enemy i .And shall 
immutability itself appear to change and waver, that 
a traitor may stand in judgment ? Nay, divine vera- 
city hath affirmed that " it is easier for heaven and 






108 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER \ 

earth to pass away, than for one tittle of the law to 
fail," Luke xvi. 17V 

Now Justice began to vindicate truth and law ; I 
have said, u that the soul that sinneth shall die," 
Exod. xviii. 4. " My sword shall be bathed in 
heaven, and come down on Idumea, the people of 
my curse, to judgment," Isa. xxxiv. 5. " Cut him 
asunder, and appoint him his portion with hypo- 
crites," Matt. xxiv. 51. " Cut it down [I say,] why 
cumbereth it the ground ?" Luke xiii. 7. Now his 
right hand accuser laid about him, as if he had al- 
most " swallowed him up alive as the grave; and 
whole as they that go down to the pit," Pro v. i. 12. 
To be short, the poor prisoner could not persuade 
himself but that the execution was actually begun, 
and that he was really sinking into hell itself. 

Ahimaaz. I never heard of so dreadful atrial in 
my life before ; do relate his deliverance— -for real- 
ly I feel as if I was under the sentence myself. I 
cannot help weeping over him ; I find my very soul 
drawn out in love and pity toward him. I have 
such a love to him, and such a sense of his suffer- 
ings, that I could give all that I have in the world to 
have a sight of him. 

Cushi. While Moses was thus accusing, Justice 
threatening, and Prodigalis sinking as he thought in- 
to the belly of hell, he lifted up his right hand and 
gave such a smite upon his breast as if he would have 
beaten the breath out of his body, and cried out, 
God be merciful to me a sinner. This was done 
with such fervour, and with such a strong voice, that 
it silenced every one in the court, except the devil, 
whose cursed breath is never spent. As for Mosea, 
he had no more to say ; for he knew thai ik>d 
u would be gracious to whom he would be gracious, 
and that he would shew mercy to whom he would 
shew mercy," Exod. xxxiii. 19. 



OR, SATAN'S LAW-SUIT WITH A SAINT* 10 ( ^ 

Moses never accuses any r.»ian that pleads or calls 
for mercy ; nor did Justice proceed against this pe- 
tition of Prodigalis ; for justice is in perfect harmo- 
ny with mercy ; they " have met together, and kiss- 
ed each other long ago," Psal. lxxxv. 10. Nor is 
Justice against the poor sinner that pleads for mer- 
cy in mercy's channel; far from it; for he says to 
such, I am " faithful and just to forgive sins, and 
to cleanse from all unrighteousness," 1 John i. 9. 

Moses insisted on perfect obedience, u and he ac- 
cused for disobedience," John v. 45. Justice called 
for death on the transgressor, and death stood ready 
to execute the sentence, and Satan to torment the 
executed. 

The prisoner having recovered himself a little, 
repeated his old petition (being determined to dis- 
charge the arrow that would fly,) God be merciful to 
me a shiner. As soon as he had ended this la- 
mentable cry, there came a person to him of singu- 
lar beauty, " fairer [by far] than any of the children 
of men," Psalm xlv. 2, and said, u Where are those 
thine accusers ? Hath no man condemned thee ?" 
John viii. 10. The prisoner could not speak, for 
M his words were swallowed up," Job vi. 3. He 
still stuck to his text, and a third time repeated the 
old cry, if possible louder than ever, God be merciful 
to me a sinner i The glorious person looked very 
hard, both at Moses and at Justice ; " and he an- 
swered and spake to those, (for they still) stood 
before him, saying, (I) take away the filthy gar- 
ments from him. And unto the (prisoner ) he said, 
I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and 
I will clothe thee with change of raiment," Zech. 
iii. 4. And true enough he did ; for he took him 
and washed him in the midst of the court, saying, 
" For I will cleanse their blood that I have not 
cleansed ; for (I) the Lord dwell in Zion," Joel 
K 



110 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER '/ 

iii. 21. And to the poor soul he said, u If I wash 
thee not thou hast no part with me," John xiii. 8. 

Justice seeing this, stepped up, and stood close by 
the Mediator, and acquiesced in the Saviour's won- 
derful act of clemency, saying " I am faithful and 
just to forgive thee thy sins, and to cleanse thee from 
all unrighteousness," 1 John i. 9* But Moses still 
kept looking about for a covering ; for his law says, 
u And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe 
to do all these commandments before the Lord our 
God, as he hath commanded us," Deut. vi. 25. 

Washing, under the ceremonial law, was not suf- 
ficient to recommend a soul to God; a perfect obe- 
dience to the moral law was required. Nor had a 
sinner any call for a ceremonial cleansing, if he had 
never transgressed the moral precept. The Saviour 
obeyed the law perfectly, and therefore wanted no 
sacrifice for himself; he offered himself, but it was 
for us. 

The Lord Jesus seeing Moses so bent upon a 
righteousness to justify the sinner, as well as a puri- 
fication, the Mediator answered and said, I have 
magnified the law and made it honourable, Isa. xlii. 
21. My obedience is sufficient to justify [him] and 
many [more], Rom. v. 19. And to the prisoner he 
said, Uehold, / bring near my righteousness, Isa. 
xlvi. 13. and / will clothe thee from head to foot 
[with it], Isa. lxi. 10. And when Moses heard that 
he was content, Lev. x. 20. 

Then said the Mediator, " Let them set a fair 
mitre upon his head ; so they set a fair mitre upon 
his head, and clothed him with garments-; and the 
angel of the Lord stood by," Zech. iii. 5. 

As soon as the Mediator had washed him, clothed 
him with his robe, and set the fair mitre upon his 
head, then he took the poor sinner by the neck, and 
held him forth before the devil : " And the Lord 
Raid uiito Satan, the Lord rebuke thee, Q, Satan ! 



or, satan's law-suit with a saint. Ill 

even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke 
thee : Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire i n 
Zech. iii. 2. 

As soon as the devil saw that, he vanished like 
lightning falling frc?n heaven, Luke x. 18. And 
there was heard a shout and a leud voice even from 
the celestial regions, saying, " Now is ccme salva- 
tion, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and 
the power of his Christ ; for the accuser of our 
brethren is cast down, which accused them before 
our God day and night ; and [Prodigalis] has over- 
come him by the blood of the Lamb. Therefore 
rejoice ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them, Rev* 
xii. tQ, 11, 12. 

Ahimaaz. My very soul is fired with love to the 
dear Redeemer; well may he be called our wisdom, 
righteousness, sanctification and redemption, 1 Cor. 
i. 30. My soul is as if it was just delivered ; surely 
I feel the blessed effects of that poor sinner's justifi- 
cation : O what a friend is the Saviour to the poor ! 
Pray go on with the account. 

Cushi. As soon as the Mediator had washed, 
clothed, and crowned the poor prisoner, and had re- 
buked Satan the accuser, he then appeared at the 
right hand of Prodigalis, and stood as an Advocate, 
in the very place where Satan the accuser had stood. 
Thus the Advocate displaced the devil. This made 
the prisoner cry out, " I will praise the Lord with 
my mouth ; yea, I will praise him among the multi- 
tude. For he shall stand at the^right hand of the 
poor, to save him from those that condemn his soul," 
Psalm cix. 30, 31. 

Ahimaaz. Pray, what said the great and terrible 
name to this ? he that spake out of the thick datkness, 
Deut. v. 22, you know he is a consuming fire, Heb. 
xii. 29. 

Cushi. Why, the Mediator took Prodigalis in his 
right hand, and led him up, even before that great 



112 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER ; 

and terrible name, as you call it ; he led him up to 
him (I say), in his crown and robe, as he was, and 
said to his Father, u Behold me and [one of] the 
children which thou hast given me," Ifeb.n. 13. and 
that great and terrible name appeared one of the 
iiiost compassionate and tender Fathers that ever 
mortal heard of; for he rose up from his seat, u and 
ran to him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, 
Luke xv. 20. and said, This my son was dead and is 
alive again, he was lost and is found,' 9 ver, 24. The 
poor soul cried aloud, seeing, himself so unworthy of 
adopting grace, and said, u Father I have sinned 
against Heaven, and in thy sight, and am not worthy 
to be called thy son," vci\ 21, and lift up his voice 
and wept aloud. But the Father wiped his blubber 
cheeks, saying, 4 * And God shall wipe away all tears 
from their eyes : and there shall be no more death, 
neither sorrow, nor crying," Rev. xxi, 4, Then said 
the Mediator to Prodigalis, " Be not afraid, Mark v. 
26, for the Father himself loveth you, because ye 
have loved me," John xvi. 27, 

The Father seemed to take particular notice of 
the robe that the Mediator had put upon poor Pro- 
digalis, "and smelled the smell of his raiment, and 
blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is 
as the smell of a field which [I] the Lord have bles- 
sed. Therefore [I will give thee] of the dew of 
heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of 
corn and wine. Let people serve thee, and [sinful] 
nations bow down to thee : be Lord over thy [fleshly] 
brethren, and let thy mother's [base-born] sons bow 
down to thee : cursed be every one that curseth thee, 
and blessed be he thatblesseth thee," Gen. xxvii. 27, 
28, 29. 

Ahimaaz. Why, the Father seemed as loving 
to him as the Mediator himself, who rvas flesh of 
his flesh, and bone of his bone, Eph._v. 30. I can- 
not think how the poor soul could bear np under 



OH, SATAN 5 S LAW-SUIT WITH A SAINT. 11 o 

such unparalleled kindness and mercy. Astonishing 
love ! But the Son's robe is pleasing to the Father; 
for he has ever pronounced a blessing on them whose 
iniquities are forgiven, and whose sin is covered 
with that robe ; and has promised never to impute 
sin to such again, nor charge their spirit with guile, 
Psalm xxxii. 1,2. 

Cushi. Indeed the Father seemed as fond of 
adorning him as the Mediator himself; for he did 
not think poor Prodigalis was fine enough. There- 
fore he said, u Put a ring on his finger, and shoes 
on his feet, and let us be merry," Luke xv. 22, 23, 
He ordered likewise all the hosts of heaven to ac- 
quiesce in this his sovereign will ; and said, " There 
should be joy in heaven over one sinner that re- 
penteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons 
[now in glory] that never need repentance," Luke 
xv. 7. Nor was the Father of eternity himself silent 
when the celestial triumphs began : so far from it, 
that the Almighty's voice was as plainly heard in 
the anthem as the music and melody of all the rest. 
And indeed it must be so to fulfil the scriptures, 
which cannot be broken : " The Lord thy God in 
the midst of thee is mighty : he will save ; he will 
rejoice over thee with joy ; he will rest in his love ; 
he will joy over thee with singing" Zeph. iii. 17. 

After the Father had kissed him, blessed him, or- 
dered the ring on his finger, and the shoes on his 
Feet, and had joined in the anthem at the reception 
of him, because he had received him safe and sound ; 
the Saviour put one of the hands of Prodigalis into 
the hand of his heavenly Father, and held the other 
hand fast himself; then said the blessed Saviour ;o 
poor Prodigalis, u None shall pluck [thee] out of 
my hand ; my Father is greater than ail, and none is 
able to pluck [thee] out of my Father's hands," John 
x. 28, 29. The Father having kissed him, he pointed 
to him his beloved Son,' saying, u Go ; kiss the Son : 
K 2 



114 THE JUSTIFICATION CTf A SINNER ; 

blessed are all they that put their trust in him," 
Psalm ii. 12. And to his own Son he said, " It is 
my will that not one of these [poor] little ones 
should perish,' 5 Matt, xviii. 14 — but that thou " raise 
them up at the last day," John vi. 39. Thus poor 
Prodigalis, the self-condemned sinner, was justified:, 
and he that was far off by wicked works, was made 
nigh by the blood of Christ. And the enemy was 
reconciled to God by the death of his dear Son. 

Ahimaaz. You have given me a sweet account 
of the arraignment and justification of that poor 
sinner ; of his glorious deliverance, and of the re- 
buke that Satan met with. But Destruction, the 
executioner, that stood at his left hand, you say 
nothing about; pray what became of him? for of 
all the enemies that poor fallen mortals are exposed 
to, he is none of the least : indeed he is one of the 
.most formidable; for if he receives a commission 
to execute his office on the self-condemned criminal, 
he is gone for ever ; he has no more part in any good 
thing that is done under the sun. The fatal die is 
cast, and the departed soul is exposed to every shaft 
that flies beyond the tomb. u Blessed is that man 
that is delivered from the arrow that flieth. by day; he 
^hall not be afraid of the terrors of [endless] night ; 
being cleansed from the spiritual pestilence that 
walketh in darkness; he is also delivered from the 
destruction that wasteth at [the] noon [of gospel] 
day ," Psalm xci. 5, 6. 

Cushi. Why, the Mediator said to Destruction, I 
came * A to deliver them who through the fear of 
death were all their life time subject to bondage," 
Ueb. ii. 15. and as soon as he had said this, Prodigalis 
was notinvhe least afraid of him, but rather wished 
him to do his office, being persuaded that -all things 
"were his, whether life or death, 1 Cor. iii. 22. For 
as the sting of death was gone out of his conscience, 
tie was not afraid of =a phantom ; for death is no 



or, satan's law-suit with a saint. 115 

more without his sting than a serpent is without his 
tooth. It is guilt that makes death formidable ; 
without this he is a mere shadow without a sub- 
stance, Psalm xxiii. 4. Indeed, poor Prodigalis 
triumphed over him, saying, " O death where is 
thy sting ! O grave where is thy victory ! The sting 
of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law ; 
but thanks be to God which giveth us the victory 
through our Lord Jesus Christ," 1 Cor. xv. 55, 56. 
This is no more than the fulfilment of a glorious pro- 
mise made by the dear Redeemer, " I will ransom 
them from the power of the grave; I will redeem 
them from death : Oh death, I will be thy plague ! 
Oh grave I will be thy destruction ! repentance shall 
be hid from mine eyes," Hosea, xiii. 14. 

Ahimaaz. I am wonderfully instructed; my 
very bowels yearn over the Father of all mercies, 
and the God of all comfort, for discovering such 
bowels of mercy to poor returning sinners, who have 
wantonly abused his name, and ignorantly rebelled 
against the only friend they have in heaven or earth. 
Besides, my brother, we know God is self complete, 
happy, and eternally happy in his own perfections ; 
our praises or our presence in heaven can never add 
to divine felicity; nor can all the horrors of the 
damned discompose the Most High, disquiet his 
happiness, or in the least diminish his pleasure. 

This being the real case, God's endearing charac- 
ters, and unexpected condescension, when displayed, 
is the most affecting scene that can be exhibited upon 
a human spirit. 

Cushi. True, my brother; and if poor souls, 
who are brought to hope in the Saviour, did but 
consider the Almighty in those relative ties, and 
covenant characters, that (as a reconciled God and 
Father) he stands in to them, there would not be 
that servile disposition, that slavish fear that is in too 
many of them ; nor that mercenary service that is 



116 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SlNNEli \ 

performed by them, which is not at all to the honour 
of their benign parent, nor to the honour or happi- 
ness of themselves ; who are called a free and roy- 
al household ; and their dignity, their liberty, 
their maintenance, their crown royal^ and their en- 
joyment of it, is eternally secured, and that by their 
own Father ; whose wisdom none can baffle, whose 
schemes none can frustrate^ whose promise can never 
fail, and whose power cannot be resisted. 

Ahimaaz. Very ture | but the Almighty does 
not give to all his children so conspicuous a deliver** 
ance as he did to Prodigalis : nor do I believe that 
all are justified in such a manner. I believe myself 
to be justified by faith in the Saviour ; but I was not 
tried like him, nor delivered with all that explicit 
form that you have described. 

Cushi* But you was ; and I will be bold to say y 
that if you was to go to the weakest babe in faith, 
and ask him, if he was not awed by the fear of death 
before hope sprung up in his breast; he would tell 
you, Yes. Ask him, if evil thoughts were not sug- 
gested to his mind : and he would tell you, They 
were : here is Satan the accuser, and death the exe- 
cutioner. Ask him, further, if the corruptions of 
his heart and his evil tempers were not discovered, 
and stirred up more than usual: here is the eye of 
God ; " Whatsoever maketh manifest is light," Eph* 
v. 13. Ask him if the law of God, when he read 
it, and his own conscience, when he examined it, 
did not accuse him : if so, there is the clerk of the 
peace, the clerk of the crown and Moses the accu- 
ser. And I will be bold to affirm that he never got 
rid of one of these accusers nor accusations but by 
faith in the name of Jesus. These are the sensible 
effects of the trial, though they may not be able for 
the want of light and judgment to describe it. 

Ahimaaz. Indeed, my friend, I can go step by 
step with your account of the sensations of Prodi- 
galis ; but to save my life I could not describe my 



OR, SATAN S LAW-SUIT WITH A SAINT. \\7 

arraignment nor justification in the manner that you 
have. 

Cushi. I know that the poor sinner is taken to 
task for all his transgressions : they occur to his 
mind, one after another, as he is able to stand the 
indictments : nor are the thoughts of his heart ne- 
glected in the divine process ; but when God " ma- 
keth inquisition for blood, he remembereth them, he 
forgetteth not the cry of the humble," Psalm ix. 12. 

And if any thing be not brought forth at the first 
arraignment, the poor sinner, when he has trans- 
gressed, goes to the bar again, " and is rejudged 
and chastened of the Lord, that he may not be con- 
demned with the world," 1 Cor. xi. 32. How of- 
ten is a real believer cited to the bar, or obliged to 
cite himself, for an evil thought, or an hasty expres- 
sion, because his quickened soul is susceptible of 
remorse ; when the impenitent shall hardly feel a 
check for all his abominable crimes, because he is 
dead ; however, the former has an advocate, but the 
latter knows of none. 

Ahimaaz. I find that I agree with you in the 
feeling sense of the power, though I have not light 
enough to see eye to eye ; but the kingdom of God 
is not in -word but in poxver. I am sorry that I so 
often break in upon your coversation, and especially 
in a contradictory way; but your candour will excuse 
my intrusion. I am obliged, when I have raised all 
myobjections,to go with the force of your arguments; 
for when you back your assertions with the word of 
God, both my conscience and experience carries me 
into your channel. I would wish to hear how the 
poor soul found himself after his justification by 
faith, and reconciliation with God. I dare say he 
thought that heaven itself was come down into his 
heart. 

Cushi. After he had received the sentence of 
justification, and the benediction of the Father and 



118 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER ; 

the Son (for they both blessed him,) he was led into 
a lonely avenue, and had a true and humbling sight 
of the cross, that he might know how his justifica- 
tion was procured by his surety ; and likewise he 
was left to contemplate there jvhich way it was that 
law and justice got satisfaction, u that God might 
appear just (to his law) as well as the justifier of 
(Prodigalis) that believed in Jesus," Rom. iii. 26. 
The poor man never had so humbling a vision as 
this before; his soul was dissolved at the sight of 
the cross : the singular clemency of his Lord, exhi- 
bited in the mystery of his sufferings, overwhelmed 
him with humility ; his eyes flowed with tears of 
love ; bis heart discharged every stream of gratitude ; 
and his tongue encompassed his Lord with thou- 
sands of blessings and praises, till he might truly be 
said to inhabit the praises of (that Israelite,) Psalm 
xxii. 3. 

Ahimaaz. I bless God I know by happy expe- 
rience what the feelings of poor Prodigalis were : I 
have had a sight of the cross myself; and have felt 
the immortal love of him that died the just for the 
unjust: and I hope that the blessed impression that 
it left on my soul will never be defaced by the love 
of creatures. Surely the impression was divine ; 
nature was passive under it, and happy in it; nor 
does the soul ever desire to lose the sense of it. But 
this is deemed mere folly and enthusiasm by the un- 
enlightened part of mankind. 

Cushi. It is such enthusiasm that every believer 
can give some reasonable account of, agreeable to 
divine relation : whereas, on the other hand, if the 
greatest man of letters — one of the brightest parts 
and greatest ingenuity in a carnal state* — was to at- 
tempt to mimic this power, an infant of days in grace 
would be able to detect the impostor. It is one of 
the secrets that is with the righteous ; and all other 
secrets essential to salvation are included in it* 



OR, SATAN S LAW-SUIT WITH A SAINT. 119 

This I have often observed, that when a letter- 
learned Atheist has took pen in hand against a trea- 
tise of divinity, he has acted just as an ignorant bul- 
ly would do with a reasonable man, discharged the 
vulgar spleen of his heart at the book, though never 
able to overthrow or disprove the truth contained in 
it, with either sense or reason on his side; so that 
his bolt has only served to disclose the rebellion of 
his heart, and betray his ignorance of his maker. 

Ahimaaz. If God hides his mysteries from the 
wise and prudent, they can do but little with them. 
j\o man can counterfeit a thing that he has no idea 
of; nor can he disprove what he doth not understand. 
If the Messiah hides his mysteries from a man, he 
has no knowledge of them ; therefore he can never 
counterfeit them, nor disprove them. Such a man 
may be counted wise while he keeps silence ; " even 
a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise; 
and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of un- 
derstanding," Prov. xvii. 28. " Wisdom is too high 
for him," Prov. xxiv. 7, therefore if he meddle 
with it, « he layeth open his folly," Prov. xiii. 16. 

But do give me a further account of Prodigalis ; 
for it is the power of religion that warms the heart, 
as speaketh the Psalmist, " They shall speak of the' 
glory of the kingdom, and talk of thy power; to 
make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, 
and the glorious majesty of his kingdom," Psalm 
cxlv. 11. 12. 

Cushi. After Prodigalis had been indulged with 
a saving view of the Cross, he lived some time in 
that open vision, until his soul was so meekened and 
humbled under that affecting scene of tragedy, that 
he died to all earthly comforts and earthly things.— 
khe charms of his wife, the pleasures that he had ta- 
Ten in his children, the pleasures of company, the 
j blessings of heaUb, the blessings of sleep, and the 
i blessings of food, were all insipid and unsavory to 



120 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER ; 

him. Infinite fulness had entertained him with such 
divine satisfaction, that there was no room &r a se- 
cond course ; God was all in a 1 . And though God 
« has made every thing beautiful in its season yet 
there was but one object beautiful and seasonaole to 

hl For many months he lived in this open vision 
and spent his time in the pleasing element ^ of silent 
solitude, until he pined after heaven, as the infan 
iust weaned doth after its mother's breast. He was 
fie the Psalmist j « As the h^anteth ,aft erjhe 
water brook, so panted his soul after God, 1 salm 

X1 Ah'ima A2 . This is the blessed state of a restored 
soul ; and he can do no less than love God with all 
Ss heart, with all his soul, with all his mind, and 
with all his strength. The man sees Ins own sal- 
vation so precious, and himself such a debtor to 
grace" thatdie united efforts of every mental power 
are not sufficient to express the high obligation that 
such are under to God, nor the love and gratitude 

A Cusut 6 Why? you talk like a sound divine ; that 

?s a most gracious speech, and a Very true one, 

Howbeit, after Prodigalis had been teg [indulged 

with this vision of the cross, that began m time to 

low dim in its lustre, and to get more remote fiom 

Slew ; and its appearing at a greater distance, caused 

S sensations thereof to abate m proportion : but 

the Saviour sent him another Comforter, who gra^ 

duallv opened to his understanding the sacred and 

Wound mysteries of the Holy Trinity ; I and led 

nimup to tL eternal counsel of * f^r , fe on and 

Snirit in the economy of man's salvation, lhese 

2mes afforded him fresh entertainment : and no 

wontler; for such astonishing and establishing , vie^s 

led the poor soul into joys unutterable : so that he 



or, satan's law-suit with a saint. 121 

rejoiced as much in the resurrection and glorifica- 
tion of the son of God, as he had before mourned 
at the visions of his unparalleled sufferings and 
death. The blessed Spirit shined like the sun on 
his understanding — revived his drooping heart — in- 
fluenced his mind with life and peace — set his af- 
fections in a flame for God — and informed his judg- 
ment respecting those things which are hid from the 
wise and prudent. In short, he had a glimpse of 
almost all the essential mysteries, Mark iv. 11. 
This kindled a becoming zeal within him, and made 
his heart overflow with joy unspeakable and full of 
glory. Thus he was " washed in the regeneration, 
and renewed by the Holy Ghost, which was shed 
upon him abundantly through Jesus Christ our Sa- 
viour," Tit. iii. 6. He*' was a new creature in- 
deed ; old things were passed away, and all things 
became new," 2 Cor. v. 17. His "flesh seemed 
fresher than a child's, and he returned to the days 
of his youth," Job xxxiii. 25. This made him de- 
sire no longer to appear M as a candle under a bushel, 
or under a bed, but he wished to appear on a can- 
dlestick, that others might see the light," Matt. 
v. 15. 

He began to speak cheerfully of divine things to his 
wife, family, and friends, the law of kindness was un- 
der his tongue; his conversation was savoury and pow- 
erful, and his zeal and knowledge was accompanied 
with a public spirit. He became a lively companion 
to those who had any reverence of their Maker— 
a warm reprover of the wicked— an informer of the 
misled — a keen detector of errors — a sound scripto- 
rian — a son of consolation to a wounded spirit, and 
a conspicuous prevailer with (rod in prayer. .The 
order of his family visibly reflected the religion of 
his heart ; he endeavored to train his children 
iip to useful learning ; to make them dextrous at 
their pen — good accomptants — good grammariasn— - 
L 



V22 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SIXNER ; 

excellent readers — good geographers, &c. &c. and 
to inform their judgment in these things, as well as 
to load their minds with great swelling- words of 
vanity. These things, when accompanied with a be- 
coming prudence, and good sense, make persons 
shine like stars in their own native country. 

Prodigalis never suffered his daughters to learn to 
dance, to swell their breasts, or to stretch their 
necks with the cursed air of wantonness. He knew 
by woful experience the craft of the devil, and that 
he would use every effort to get at their hearts and 
destroy their souls, without his giving him a clue. 
?* or did his wife gad about with a dress upward 
man, and downward woman, as if they were a kind 
of mermaids, — with a man's hat and wig and a wo- 
man's apron and petticoat— a dress becoming none 
b ut hermaphrodites. How odious does it look to see 
men imitate women, with a back to their coat after 
the fashion of French stays, and bows of ribbon to 
their shoes, like misses in their teens ; while the 
women wear not only the beaver and the wig, but 
the coat and waistcoat also :' — M The woman shall 
not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither 
shall a man put on a woman's garment ; for all that 
do so are abomination unto the Lord thy God," 
Deut. xxii. 5. God has excluded the cottish man 
from his kingdom — " Know ye not that the un- 
righteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God* 
neither fornicators, nor klolators, nor adulterers, nor 
effeminate,' 1 Cor. vi. 9. 

I used to wonder what could be the reason of so 
many divorces and elopements among our married 
nobilitv ; but it is not to be so much wondered at, 
when we see so many act like the King of Babylon 
— dress the wife up for a show, and call for others 
to admire her, until her heart is imprisoned to one 
of her admirers ; then she quits her husband, and 
her favourite to law with the injured man for a 



or, satan's law-suit with a saint. 123 

separate maintenance ; and if she carries the suit, 
which is often the case, then she keeps her humble 
servant at the expense of her injured husband. One 
would think these were all ^icolatians, and that 
they were determined to have all things common. 
However, God u will certainly visit for these things, 
and his soul will be avenged on such a nation as 
this," Jer. v. 9. 

Prodigalis acted not so ; he endeavoured to lead 
his family in that way where he was the most likely 
to meet with the blessings of his God. He used the 
means appointed, did his duty in his station, and 
left the event to his God ; — nor did his family like 
him the worse for it ; for they saw the hand of God 
so visibly with him, that they feared him as his ser- 
vant, and revered him as a tender and gracious fa- 
ther. 

Ahimaaz. The man that puts his trust in God, 
will surely be defended and honoured by him ; for 
he is a wall of fire round about them that fear him, 
and they will surely burn themselves that attempt to 
oppose him ; and, as you justly observe, God will 
avenge the violation of his laws ; — matrimony is 
God's institution, himself is concerned in it, and he 
will punish the violators of it, as contemnors of him. 
But do proceed with your account of Prodigalis ; — 
as for the base proceedings of the ungodly, they can 
afford us no entertainment, unless it be to set us to 
wondering at the discriminating grace of God, that 
has caused us to differ. 1 suppose that you look 
upon the glorious renewing of the poor prodigal to 
be his new birth, do you not ? 

Ctrsin. Certainly I do. After Prodigalis " be- 
lieved, he was sealed with that holy spirit of pro- 
mise, which is the earnest of our inheritance," Eph. 
i. 13. And born of God he certainly was, for eve- 
ry faculty of his soul was renewed by the Holy Ghost. 
Tit* iii. 5. and " that which is born of the Spirit, 



124 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER ; 

is spirit, as that which is born of the flesh is flesh,' 5 
John iii. 6. He was enabled to believe in the Sa- 
viour to the salvation of his soul; and he is a " child 
of God by his faith," Gal. iii. 26. His father re- 
ceived him graciously, and blessed him, which is a 
sufficient proof of his being u predestinated to the 
adoption of sons," Eph. i. 5. Besides, God the fa- 
ther called him his son when he said, u This my son 
was dead and is alive again, he was lost and is 
found i" and because he is a son, " God has sent 
forth the spirit of his Son into his heart, crying Ab- 
ba, father ; wherefore he is no more a servant, but 
a son ; and if a son, then an heir ; an heir of God 
through Christ," Gal. iv. 6, 7. 

Ahimaaz. Pray, my brother, shew me some 
scriptural eriterions of a child of God; and as you 
say a son is an heir of God ; and a joint heir with 
Christ, do explain them to me, for I have had many 
doubts, fears, and temptations about my interest in 
these things ; though I believe, by the access that I 
find to God in prayer, and by the familiarity that I 
am indulged with, that the whole of them are in my 
heart. 

Cushi. If I can be of any use to establish and 
settle thy judgment, I shall be very willing to serve 
thee, according to my abilities ; for I know that a 
gifted man is as much accountable to God for the 
husbandry of his gift, as the wealthy man is for the 
husbandry of his wealth ; both are stewards, and 
both are -accountable to their master ; for God is 
the God of providence as well as of grace ; and the 
father of creation, as well as of regeneration. 

When God brings a poor penitent sinner into his 
family, he makes him sensibly feel a reconciliation take 
place between God and him. His conscience, which 
before was the seat of strife, becomes the principality 
of divine peace. All the elect are pre-ordained to this 
" peace and reconciliation, 9 ' Isa. xxvi. 12 ; hence they 



OR, SATAN S LAW-SUIT WITH A SAINT. 125 

are called sons of peace, even before peace be revealed 
to them ; w Into whatsoever house ye enter, first say 
Peace be to this house; and if the son of peace be 
there, your peace shall rest upon it ; if not it shall 
return to you again," Luke x. 5, 6* Secondly, 
such are enabled to call God father, with the testi- 
mony of the word, the Holy Ghost, and conscience 
on their side — " Thou shalt call me my father, and 
shalt not turn away from me," Jer. iii. 1 9. this they 
are enabled to do by the Spirit— because ye are sons, 
God hath sent forth the spirit of his Son into your 
hearts, crying, Abba, father ; wherefore thou art no 
more a servant, but a Son* The poor prodigal 
claimed this privilege in the far country — / will 
arise and go to my father ; and God owns him— this 
is my son. Thirdly, their sonship is often made 
plain and cleared up to them, by sharp trials, and 
conspicuous deliverances, by severe chastisements, 
and strong consolations ;— - u My son, despise not 
thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou 
art rebuked of him ; for whom the Lord loveth he 
rebukes and chastens, and scourgeth every son 
whom hereceiveth ; if ye were without chastisements, 
of which all are partakers, then are ye bastards and 
not sons ; for what son is he whom the father chas- 
teneth not." 

Fourthly, their senship is made plain to them by 
the love of God that is shed abroad in their hearts ; 
which encourages them to a holy freedom with 
God, — finding at times their doubts and fears remo- 
ved ; insomuch that their faith seems settled. A 
sense of love casts out servile fear, and gives a man 
a holy boldness at a throne of grace ; and faith 
works powerfully by love, for " he that loveth is 
born of God, and knoweth God," 1 John iv. 7. 
Thus he may prove his spiritual birth, and his sa- 
ving knowledge of God, by the love that he feels to 
him; and though at times the young Christian mav 
L 2 



126 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER* 

find the love of God greatly abate, according to his 
feelings, so that he cannot rejoice as usual, yet even 
then it may be perceived ; because nothing in this 
world will repair the loss to him, nothing will fill 
the vacancy ; his heart is still breathing after God ; 
and truth hath said, that u where his heart is, there 
is his treasure," Matt. vi. 21. 

Fifthly, he finds a real love to God's family more 
than to all earthly friends and relatives, however 
near by blood. A divine tie is by far stronger than 
all the ties of nature ; and when this is the case with 
a poor soul, it is a plain proof that his carnal enmity is 
slain, and that reconciliation has taken place by the 
Spirit ; — John brings it in as a proof of divine life 
— a We know that we are passed from death unto 
life, because we love the brethren," 1 John iii. 14. 

Sixthly, his sonship appears by the reverence and 
respect that he has for the word and worship of God. 
God's house is his Bethel ; the promises are sweet 
to him ; blessed entertainment, and sweet satisfac- 
tion, he often finds in them ;— -and as he finds life 
and comfort in the word, he may say, with the 
Psalmist, " This is my comfort in my affliction, for 
thy word hath quickened me," Psalm cxix. 50. It 
is common for an heir to love his inheritance, and so 
dm?s the believer, who is an heir of promise, Heb. 
vi. 17. 

Seventhly, if any part of God's word goes against 
the weak believer, so that it discovers his sins, and 
wounds him in the tenderest part, yet he will not flee 
from it ; he comes to the glass that discovers his 
deformity, and seeks the very sword that wounds 
him ; while the false heart shuns the rays of truth, 
and skulks into the gloomy shades of darkness, as 
best suiting his complexion ; " they hate the light, 
nor will they come to it, lest their deeds should be re- 
proved : But he that doth the truth cometh to the light, 
that his deeds might be made manifest that they are 



or, satan's law-suit with a saint. 127 

wrought in God," John iii. 21. This proves the 
believer to be a child of light, because he loves it, 
comes to it, and seeks direction from it ; u while ye 
have the light believe in the light, that ye may be the 
the children of light," John xii. 36 ; and as they are 
children of light so they are heirs ;— " heirs of God 
(who is light), and joint heirs with Jesus Christ 
(the true light ) " Romans viii. 17. 

Ahimaaz. Blessed be God, I have felt more or 
less the operation of all your scriptural criterions ; 
and I see my sonship as clear as the noon day. — 
But do give me a little account of the believers in- 
heritance ; for I am determined to keep your heart 
springing, and your tongue going, if asking questions 
will do it. But before you begin to describe the 
believers inheritance, be so kind as to shew me 
whether a soul thus justified, and adopted into the 
family of God, be for ever delivered from condem- 
nation ? Have patience with me, my brother, for 
possibly I never may be favoured with such an op- 
portunity again. 

Cushi. As soon as Prodigalis was cleansed, en- 
robed, and crowned, you know that both law and 
justice were on his side. The holy law, and sin 
avenging justice, are those that the guilty sinner is 
afraid of. As for Moses, he was content as soon as 
the Saviour put the robe on him ; and he must be 
so, or else contradict his own law : — " Therefore by 
the deeds of the law there shall no flesh living be 
justified in God's sight; for by the law is the know- 
ledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God 
without the law is manifested, being witnessed by 
the law and the prophets ; even the righteousness 
of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ, unto all 
and upon all them that believe," Rom. iii. 20, 21, 
22. Thus you see this righteousness is witnessed 
by the law itself, and from the mouth even of Moses ; 
for Christ is the M end of the law for righteousness 



128 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER j 

to every one that believeth : For Moses describeth 
the righteousness which is of the law, that the man 
which doeth those things shall live by them. But 
the righteousness which is of faith [Moses] speaketh 
on this wise : Say not in thine heart, who shall as- 
cend into heaven ? That is, to bring Christ down 
from above ; or, who shall descend into the deep ? 
That is, to bring Christ again from the dead : But 
what saith it ? The word is nigh thee, even in thy 
mouth, and in thy heart ; that is, the word of faith 
which we preach ; that if thou shalt confess with 
thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine 
heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou 
shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth 
unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is 
made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, who- 
soever believeth on him shall not be ashamed," Rom. 
x. 4, 11. 

Thus Moses preached up an imputed righteous- 
ness : speaks of the faith of it, and of the confession 
of it, and bears witness to it ; and if he disapproves 
of the righteousness of faith, he is against his own testi- 
mony, and is no longer worthy the name of a faith- 
ful servant, because he finds fault of his Lord and 
master's righteousness ; but that be far from Moses, 
u for is the law against the promise of God ? God 
forbid," Gal. iii. 21. 

Moses himself was not justified by works in the 
sight of God, no more than we are; hence he is 
enrolled among the believers. We all know that 
Moses killed the Egyptian, and that was enough to 
condemn him for ever by his own law ; he had no 
other shelter from the avenging sword of justice 
than the blood of Christ ; " Through faith [Moses] 
kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest 
he that destroyed the first-born should touch them," 
Heb. xi. 28. u By faith [Moses] refused to be call- 
ed the son of Pharoah's daughter ; chusing rather to 



or, satan's law-suit with a saint, 129 

suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy 
the pleasures of sin for a season," Heb. xi. 24, 25, 
44 for he had respect unto the recompence of reward," 
ver. 26, what reward was that ? Why the reward 
promised to Abraham — it could be no other. And 
did Moses expect that reward by works ? No, u for 
if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of 
promise ; but God gave it to Abraham by promise," 
Gal. iii. 18. For the promise that Abraham should 
be " the heir of the world, was not to him or to his 
seed through the law, but through the righteousness 
of faith. For if they which are of the law be heirs, 
faith is made void, and the promise made of none 
effect ; because the law worketh wrath. Therefore 
it is of faith, that it might be by grace : to the end 
the promise might be sure to all the seed," Rom. iv. 
13, 16. 

Thus you see we have made shift to bring even 
Moses himself on our side of the question, and we 
have done right ; for it was not the legal works of 
Moses that God commends, but his faith — Moses is 
faithful in my house. And it was to the comfort of 
Moses, as well as to us, that the Lord proclaimed his 
name before him — " the Lord, the Lord God, mer- 
ciful and gracious, long suffering, and abundant in 
goodness and truth. Keeping mercy for thousands, 
forgiving iniquity, and transgression, and sin," Exod. 
xxxiv. 6, 7. 

The way that Moses found access to God, was by 
faith in a Mediator ; and to free grace revealed he 
found access ; " And the Lord said unto Moses, I 
will do this thing also that thou hast spoken : For 
thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee 
by name," Exod. xxxiii. 17. Moses is a sworn ene- 
my to self-rigkteousness, and preaches it down as 
much as Christ (his master) did in his days; and shews 
plainly that there is no entering into rest by that, 
nor for that : " Speak not thou in thine heart [here 



130 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER ; 

he condemns the thought of it] after that the Lord 
thy God hast cast them out from before thee, say« 
ing, for my righteousness the Lord hath brought me 
in to possess this land," Deut. ix, 4. . Again, u not 
for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine 
heart, dost thou go to possess their land," ver. 5. — 
And again, " Understand therefore, that the Lord 
thy God giveth thee not this good land to possess 
it for thy righteousness ; for thou art a stiff-necked 
people," ver. 6. If the thought of meriting an 
earthly inheritance be condemned, what shall we say 
of them who not only think, but boast of meriting 
an eternal inheritance by their own righteousness ? 

Ahimaaz. God bless thee, my brother, thou hast 
cleared that point up to my satisfaction, I see clear- 
ly that the righteousness of Christ is that in which 
all the elect stand justified before God ; it is wit- 
nessed both by the law and the prophets ; and as for 
the gospel, that reveals no other : " I am not asha- 
med of the gospel of Christ, for therein is the righte- 
ousness of God revealed," Rom. i. 17* And 
finding Moses himself justified by the righteousness 
of faith is a very comfortable thought to me. I see 
clearly that the law can never find fault with the 
Saviour's righteousness, which is upon every be- 
liever ; nor can it demand a better, nor condemn or 
curse the man that has laid hold of it ; for, as the 
scriptures say, he that believeth is justified freely 
from all things. O how safe is the poor sinner un- 
der this robe! blessed is the man whose iniquity is 
forgiven, whose sin is covered. Yea the Saviour 
himself declares, a that he that believeth is passed 
from death unto life, and shall never come into con- 
demnation ;" and Paul speaks the same thing — 
a there is no condemnation to them that are in Christ 
Jesus," Rom. viii. 1. 

Thus I see that a soul stands just in the presence 
of God, and in tue light of the law, by faith in an 



OR, SATANTS LAW-SUIT WITH A SAINT. 131 

imputed righteousness ; which Paul calls the obe- 
dience of the Saviour;—" Even so by the obedience 
of one shall many be made righteous," Rom. v. 19 ; 
yea, all the elect, u for in him shall all the seed of 
Israel be justified, and shall glory," Isa. xlv. 25.— 
And we are for ever justified in the eye of justice 
by faith in the Redeemer's blood ; and consequently 
justice can never demand of the believer the penal 
sum, which is eternal death. Surely God hath 
44 commended his love towards us in that, while we 
were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more 
then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be 
saved from wrath through him," Rom. v. 8, 9. — 
Thus I see I stand just before the law, by faith in 
the Saviour's obedience; and just in the sevenfold 
eye of justice, by faith in the Saviour's blood ; and, 
if so, u I am justified freely from all things, from 
which I could not be justified by the law of Moses," 
Acts xiii. 39. But I have heard people, and even 
divines, say, that our sins will appear at the day of 
judgment, though we are pardoned; I wish you 
would rectify this matter. I am to you as the queen 
of Sheba was to Solomon — u I come to prove your 
wisdom with hard questions," 1 Kings x. 1. 

Cushi. For my part, I hope ever to go by what 
God says in his word, not by what men say ; God 
says of every believer, that " he is complete in 
Christ the head," Col. ii. 10. And " that he will 
not impute their trespasses unto him," 2 Cor. v. 19. 
44 That he will cast all their sins into the sea," Mi- 
cah vii. 19. 44 That he will remember them no 
more,' 5 Jer. xxxi. 34. " That he sees no sin in Ja- 
cob nor perverseness in Israel,'* Numb, xxiii. 21. 
And again, 44 in those days, and in that time, saith 
the Lord, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, 
and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and 
they shall not be found ; for I will pardon them 



114 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER 



whom I reserve," Jer. L 20. If I was to owe a 

man fifty pounds, and a surety stepped forth and paid 
the sum, is not that debt cancelled ? Is not the book 
discharged? And have I not got the bill and receipt 
in full of all demands in my pocket? And would it 
not be an unkind, and an unjust act in such a creditor 
to be perpetually producing that old debt to my view, 
in the presence of all company, would it not be con- 
temptuous? And what credit could such an one get 
by such an action? Would not the book itself, being 
discharged, condemn his folly? And who but a no- 
vice would charge the judge of all the earth with this ? 
God blesses every poor sinner that believes in his 
dear Son. Justice says, u I am faithful and just to 
forgive your sin, and to cleanse you from all un- 
righteousness." Moses is content. And Christ says, 
u thou art all fair, there is no spot in thee," Song 
iv. 7. 

Ahimaaz. But some say, it will be done to mag- 
nify the grace of God, and to show how grace hath 
pardoned the greatest of sins. 

Cushi. Justice does not demand this, nor require 
it in all the Bible ; besides, it would admit of that 
which God excludes ; it would have the appearance 
of upbraiding, which the word of God admits not, 
" God giveth liberally and upbraideth not," James 
i. 5. 

As Justice does not require it; and as upbraiding 
is excluded, it can only be done to gratify devils and 
sinners, which God will never do. I read, that the 
mystery of iniquity is to be revealed to the righte- 
ous, but I never read that the mysteries of grace are 
to be revealed to the damned. " The manifold wis- 
dom of God is to be made known by the church to 
principalities and powers in heavenly places," Eph. 
iii. 10, but to no other. A purged conscience, the 
law of God written in the heart, and the- testimo- 
ny of God's Spirit, is a receipt in full of all the 






aR, SATAN'S LAW-SUIT WITH A SAINT. loo 

above-mentioned demands. And die poor sinner, 
who has long laboured under a sight and sense of 
his sins, frequently finds, that after God has remo- 
ved his transgressions from his sight, and purged his 
conscience, that himself, even in a fit of unbelief, is 
not able so much as to bring his sins fresh to his 
rememberance again; they are blotted out as a cloud, 
they are buried, nor can the devil or unbelief raise 
them up and bring them to life again. Not a single 
sin shall appear against the poor believer in the judg- 
ment day ; he shall rise in his Saviour's image, " He 
shall be like him, for he shall see him as he is," 1 
John iii. 2. u He shall have boldness in the day of 
judgment," 1 John iv. 17 '• " He shall be presented 
holy and unblameable, and unreproveable in God's 
sight," Col. i. 22, " he shall rise first, and appear in 
the Saviour's likeness, before the wicked be raised 
at all," 1 Thes. iv. 16. 

Ahimaaz. I am coming again with another knot ; 
for I am determined to bring every puzzling experi- 
ence,/ and every puzzling providence forth ; not a 
perplexing scripture, not an entanglement in my judg- 
ment, will I leave unriddled, if God will enable me 
to bring them forth, and you to explain them. But 
I dare say I shall think of twenty things after you 
are gone, that I shall now forget. But to the matter 
in hand ; you know that Paul says we must all ap- 
pear before the judgment seat of Christ; " For we 
shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.-— 
For it is written, as I live, saith (.he Lord, every knee 
shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to 
God. So then every one of us shall give account 
of himself to God," Rom. xiv. 10, 11, 12. And 
again, " For we must all appear before the judg- 
ment seat of Christ, that every one may receive the 
things done in his body, according to that he hath 
done, whether it be good or bad," 2 Cor. v. 10. — 
Here first Paul declares that we must all appear be- 
M 



134< THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER; 

fore the judgment seat; secondly, every knee must 
bow, and every tongue confess to God ; thirdly, 
every one must give an account of himself to God; 
and lastly, that every one may receive the things done 
in his body, whether good or bad. Be as plain as 
possible on the subject; for if you leave but a va- 
cancy as big as a button hole, unbelief will creep in, 
and drag a thousand doubts at her heels. 

Cushi. Observe first the direction given by the 
lawgiver to the Judge, u If there be a controversy 
between men, and they come unto judgment, that 
the judges may judge them; then they shall justify 
the righteous, and condemn the wicked," Deut. xxw 
1. And again, a If a man trespass against his 
neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to cause 
him to swear, and the oath come before thine oltar in 
this house ; then hear thou in heaven, and do, and 
judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, to bring 
his way upon his head; and justifying the righteous, 
to give him according to his righteousness," 1 Kings 
viii. 31, 32. Here you have the unalterable and 
eternal rule of judgment. In this rule you find two 
sentences, and no more — -justification and condemna- 
tion — thou shalt condemn the wicked- — thou shalt 
justify the righteous. Now the effects or conse- 
quences of these two sentences are two also, a bless*- 
ing, and a curse, the law reveals no more, Deut. 28, 
read the whole chapter; the blessings are to those 
that hearken to the voice of the Lord in the gospel, 
and the curses are to the legal self-righteous tribe, 
that trust in their obedience to the law, to which they 
adhere for life, because they cannot fulfil the whole 
of it ; — " As many as are of the works of the law 
are under the curse," Gal. iii. 10, and, on the other 
hand, I have proved the believer to be under the 
blessing ; " so then th^y which be of faith, are bless- 
ed with faithful Abraham," Gal. iji. 9. 



WITH A SAINT. 135 

I have already shewed that the believer is justi- 
fied, consequently under the sentence of justification ; 
and the glorious effect of this is, that he is blessed ; 
yea, he is blessed both by the law and the gospel ; 
God the Father blesses hirn ; u Kiss the Son lest he 
be angry; blessed are all they that put their trust In 
him," Psalm ii. 12. He is blessed also of God the 
Saviour: — " Because thou hast seen me, Thomas, 
thou hast believed ; blessed are they that have not 
seen, and yet have believed," John xx. 29. This 
blessing is likewise pronounced by the Holy Ghost ; 
" Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord ; yea, 
saith the Spirit, for they rest from their labours, and 
their works do follow them." Rev. xiv. 13. This 
being the real case, the sentence of justification, and 
the blessing annexed to it, follows the believer go 
where he will. 

Having shewed you the rule of judgment, the 
sentence and the blessing, I come now to speak of 
the judgment seat. I have already proved, by the 
trial of Prodigalis, that the elect are arraigned and 
tried before the judgment seat in this world- — that 
the light of God shines upon them : that the com- 
mandment comes with power : that sin revives, and 
the sinner feeling the sentence thereof dies : that 
law, conscience, and Satan accuse him ; and that by 
faith he is justified, and passes from the sentence of 
death to spiritual life by faith in the Son of Gcd; as 
it is written, u I am the resurrection and the life j 
he that believeth in me, though he were dead yet 
shall he live ; and he that iiveth and believeth snail 
never die," John xi. 25, 26. Thus you see the elect 
soul is arraigned and acquitted in this world by an 
act of grace. 

Secondly, Every time he sins against his Father 
and Redeemer, having the law of God and the'rule 
of judgment written on his heart, he arraigns him- 



136 THE JUSTIFICATION Oi A SINNER ; 

self; this is his privilege, which if he neglects God 
does it : u If we would judge ourselves we should 
not be judged ; but when we are chastened we are 
judged of the Lord, that we should not be condemn- 
ed with the world" 1 Cor. xi. 31, 32. 

Thirdly, The believing soul may appear before 
the judgment seat of Christ as soon as it is severed 
from the body ; " for the spirit returns to God that 
gave it," Eccl. xii. 7. But supposing this be the 
case, the believing soul can receive nothing but the 
sentence of justification, and the blessing annexed 
to it ; " Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord ;" 
but this is ail supposition ; for the Bible is silent a- 
bout it to the best of my remembrance. It is said 
of Lazarus, that a he was carried by the angels into 
Abraham's bosom," Luke xvi. 22 ; and of the thief, 
that " he should be that day with the Lord in para- 
dise," Luke xxiii. 43. But there is nothing said of 
a trial between death and eternal glory. Yet doubt- 
less the Saviour will present every believing soul 
before his Father at their arrival in heaven ; but if 
he does, it will be without spot or wrinkle, or any 
such thing : and if so it can be only to receive the 
Father's blessing ; which will be no worse than that 
which the poor soul met with on his repentance ; 
namely, the Father fell on his neck and kissed him — ■ 
and rejoiced over him with singing. 

Fourthly, If we are all to appear before the judg- 
ment seat of Christ in the great day, as the apostle 
intimates, it will be only to be exalted to the right 
hand of the Lord : " And he shall set the sheep on 
his right hand, and the goats on the left," Matt. xxv. 
33. And whatever account a believer is to give of 
himself to God, I believe the Saviour, as his only 
Advocate, will instruct him in it : " The meek will 
he guide in judgment, and the meek will he teach 
his Way," Psalm xxv. 9. And the chief account that 
lie will have to give at that day will be an account 



or, satan's law-suit with a saint. 1ST 

of his unworthiness, and to wonder at the grace of 
his incomparable Lord : " Then shall the king say 
unto them on his right hand, Come ye blessed of my 
Father [mark the blessing here], inherit the king- 
dom prepared for you from the foundation of the 
world," Matt. xxv. 34. Now mind the Saviour's 
process. M For I was an hungred, and ye gave me 
meat ; thirsty, and ye gave me drink ; I was a stran- 
ger and ye took me in ; naked and ye clothed me ; I 
was sick, and ye visited me ; I was in prison, and 
ye came unto me," Matt. xxv. 35, 36. Now comes 
the account that the saints give of themselves to 
God, which consists of a public renunciation of all 
usefulness to God, and of all dependance on merit ; 
w Then shall the righteous [mind the appellation] 
answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an 
hungred, and fed thee ? or thirsty, and gave thee 
drink ? when saw we thee a stranger, and took thee 
in ? or naked, and clothed thee ? or when saw we 
thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee ?" Matt. 
xxv. 37, 38, 39. Thus the lord justifies the righte - 
ous. Mind, he calls them righteous^ which they 
could never be but by faith; for M he that believes not 
is condemned already." Nor need we wonder at 
the Lord's putting encomiums on their works, for it 
was himself that " worked in them both to will and 
to do of his own good pleasure," PhiL ii. 13. The 
Lord had u wrought all their works in them/' Isa. 
xxvi. 12; and he takes special notice of, and puts 
great encomiums upon them. But the righteous 
place no confidence in them, but renounce them, 
with an humble confession of their unworthiness : 
u And they were justified when they spoke, and 
cleared when they thus judged [of themselves]," 
Psalm, v. 4. Thus you see, instead of the sins of 
the just being exposed, he brings forth every work 
of righteousness ; every fruit of faith and labour of 
love. • 

m 2 



138 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER % 

Thus I have answered three things in your ques- 
tion And I suppose Satan has been tempting thee 
to think that thou shalt be covered with shame and 
confusion, either at death or at thy entrance into 
heaven ; or at the great and terrible day ; and his 
temptations have driven thee to make this earnest 
enquiry ; which is easily answered : for if there be 
m the word of God any thing relating to your en- 
quiry which I have not brought forth, this text is 
sufficient to answer it, either at an hour of death or 
at the day of judgment ; " But Israel shall be saved 
in the Lord with an everlasting salvation ; ye shall 
not be ashamed nor confounded world without end," 
Isa. xlv. 17. 

The last part of your question is, What is meant 
by " every man receiving according to the works 
done in the body, whether good or bad " \ Here are 
two sorts of works, good and bad; which Paul calls 
" the fruits of the Spirit, and the works of the flesh. 
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suf- 
fering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, tem- 
perance ; " against such there is no law," Gal. v. 22, 
23. " Now the works of the flesh are manifest, 
which are th se, adultery, fornication, lascivious- 
ness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emula- 
tions, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, &c. f&c. 
they that do such things shall not inherit the king- 
dom of God," Gal. v. 19, 20, 21. 

Thus you see the world is divided into two clas- 
ser — sheep and goats : and there are two sorts of 
fru t^ — those of the flesh and those of the Spirit i 
so likewise there are two covenants — one of grace, 
and the other of works ; so also there are two sen- 
tences — that of justification, and that of condemna- 
tion. The effect of justification is the blessing of 
God; and the effect of condemnation is the eternal 
curse of God. A blessing and a curse will close 
the scene in the great day, and finally conclude the 
\ mystery of God, Rev. x. 7. 



or, satan's law-suit with a saint. 139 

As a just God and a Saviour the judge will appear, 
and both classes will be " judged according to their 
works : those that sow to the flesh shall of the flesh 
reap corruption ; and they that sow to the Spirit 
shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting," Gal. vi. 8. 
Thus every man shall " receive according to the 
things done in the body ; according to that he hath 
done, whether good or bad," 2 Cor. v. 10. If he 
be a believer, he is blessed with faithful Abraham ; 
if he be a hoping soul, he shall not be ashamed of his 
hope, but shall enjoy his expected inheritance, after 
his patience is tried in " looking for that blessed 
hope and the glorious appearing of the great God 
and our Saviour Jesus Christ," Titus ii. 13. 

O ! how thankful ought a soul to be at the thought 
of the blessed Lord's appearing to " give a reward 
to his servants the prophets, and to all that fear his 
name, small and great," Rev. xi. 1 8. While on the 
other hand, he that dies in the flesh is not one 
of the children of God ; for he dies in his sin, not 
in the Saviour, and dying in unbelief, he cannot 
enter the kingdom of God. For my part, I know 
of no other sorts of fruits or works but these two ; 
and all the human race are bringing forth one or the 
other, according to the state they are in, and the 
covenant they are under : nor is there any middle 
state between them. 

Ahimaaz. For my part I am satisfied. " Bless 
the Lord, O my soul ! and all that is within me bless 
his~holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul ! and 
forget not all his benefits : who forgiveth all thine 
iniquities ; who healeth all thy diseases ; who re- 
deemeth thy life from destruction ; who crowneth 
thee with loving kindness and tender mercies,' 7 
Psalm ciii. 1, 2, 3, 4. Pray now go on with the 
description of the blessed inheritance. 

Cushi. That is more than man or angel can do : 
but the book of God mentions it : God the Father 



140 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER ; 

hath promised to be our God : " At that time, saith 
the Lord, will I be the God of all the families of Is- 
rael, and they shall be my people," Jer. xxxi. 1. 
This implies that God will be the portion of his 
people. " Fear not, Abraham, I am thy shield and 
thy exceeding great reward/' Gen. xv. 1. Thus 
the " Lord is the portion of his people, and Jacob is 
the lot of his inheritance," Deut. xxxii. 9. This 
glorious portion is to be known, and to be enjoyed 
by every believer at last. For he is, as the Scrip- 
tures witness, u an heir of God, and a joint heir 
with Christ," Rom. viii. 17. 

The blessed Saviour is the believer's portion also ; 
u God so loved the world that he gave his only be- 
gotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him might 
not perish but have everlasting life." And again, I 
will keep him, and u give him for a covenant of the 
people," Isa. xliii. 6. The sight of this made Paul 
" count all things but dung that he might win 
Christ," Phil. iii. 8, whom he styles our life, Col. 
iii. 4. 

The Holy Ghost also is the portion of a believer ; 
and an earnest in his heart of all that he has in hope : 
" I will send you the promise of the Father." And 
again; " I will pray the Father, and he, shall give 
you another Comforter, that he may abide with you 
forever," John xiv. 16. 

Thus God ; Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, are 
the believer's everlasting portion ; and so he will 
find it in the end, when he comes to be filled with 
all the fulness of God* The whole oi which is 
couched in these words: "That they all may be one ; 
as thou, Father art in me, and I in thee, that they 
also may be one in us. And the glory which thou 
gavest me I have given them, that they may be one 
even as we are one ; I in them, and thou in me, that 
they may be made perfect in one," John xvii. 21, 
22, 23. Thus much for the portion. 



< 



OR, SATAN S LAW-SUIT WITH A SAINT. 141 

But a dwelling-place is likewise included in scrip- 
ture, as well as the enjoyment of God ; for the in- 
heritance of the saints consists of a place as well as 
a glorious state : " I go to prepare a place for you ; 
and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come 
again and receive you to myself, that where I am 
there ye may be also," John xiv. 2, 3. u We, ac- 
cording to his promise, look for new heavens and a 
new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness," 2 Pe- 
ter iii. 13. 

Ahimaaz. This is an inheritance indeed ! and 
blessed be God, it is in a measure enjoyed in this 
life ; for when God sheds abroad his love in our 
hearts, upon our receiving the atonement, the Holy 
Ghost fills us with joy and peace in believing ; and 
we feel union vmAftllorvship -with the Father and the 
Son" 1 John i. 3 ; and enjoy the communications of 
the Holy Ghost. And 1 believe this is what Paul 
means when he says, u The grace of the Lord Jesus 
Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of 
the Holy Ghost be with you all." Amen. 3 Cor. 
xiii. 14. 

Cushi. It is Paul's meaning : and thus the bless- 
ed Trinity is experimentally and savingly known by 
every real believer in this world. The above inhe- 
ritance is the inheritance promised to Abraham, I- 
saac, and Jacob : — u I am thy shield and thy exceed- 
ing great reward." And it is said that they sought 
a country better than that which they left, namely 
an heavenly one, Heb. xi. 16. 

Ahimaaz. But pray how is this inheritance secur- 
ed to the heirs thereof ? because some people say 
that an heir of it may fall from grace — be disinherit- 
ed — and have his portion in the lake that burnetii 
-with fire and brimstone ; and if so, it had been bet- 
ter for them that they had never been made heirs. 

Cushi. Men who talk at that rate do not trust hi 



142 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER J 

the grace of God ; if you read their writings, you 
will find that all their contention is for fleshly works, 
and in works they trust. And though the word grace 
be often brought in, yet it is only done as a decep- 
tion to entangle others ; hence such are said in scrip- 
ture to weave the spider's web ; that is, as the spi- 
der catcheth her prey in her web, so these inter- 
weave the word grace to catch souls for Satan in 
the net of works. And as many a fly settles on the 
web to rest till it be devoured, so many souls settle ' 
on the Arminian web of grace and works, till they 
are entangled in the curse of God and jaw r s of the 
devil. Such trust in themselves, not in God ; and 
in their own dead works they place their hopes, in- 
stead of grace. But the inheritance is not promised 
to our works, nor secured by them : " For if the 
inheritance be of the law it is no more of promise ; 
but God gave it to Abraham by promise/* Gal. iii. 
18. If it were to be obtained by the works of the 
law it would be very uncertain ; man might perform 
his part, and he might not ; and if he did not per- 
form the conditions, whatever such conditions might 
be, then Infinite Wisdom might be frustrated in his 
grand designs : therefore God has secured it in a 
way that the end is sure to be accomplished; whiqh 
will plainly appear, if you consider the following 
negative and positive : " For if they which are of 
the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the pro- 
mise made of none effect ; because the law worketh 
wrath ; for where no law is there is no transgres- 
sion," Rom. iv. 15. 

If the law worketh wrath — as it certainly does 
because it reveals God's wrath against sin, and stirs 
up sin against God ; therefore the everlasting inheri- 
tance cannot be obtained by works, nor can it be se- 
cured by the revelation of wrath : so far from it, that 
the stifest legalist is the greatest enemy to God, and 
the farthest from the kingdom of God. " The in- 



or, satan's law-suit with a saint. 14S 

heritance therefore is of faith [which is God's gift], 
that it might be [bestowed] by grace [not earned by 
works], to the end the promise might [not miscarry, 
but] be sure to all the seed," Rom. iv. 16. 

Thus you see it is a blessing given us in Christ — 
promised to faith— secured by grace — and insured 
lo all the chosen seed. Those persons that you speak 
of trust altogether in their own works, and bring in 
the word grace as a trap to entangle others in the 
works of the law : and when their fleshly works de- 
ceive and throw them down, as they did Peter, then 
they cry out, such an one is fallen from grace : where- 
as such always fight against grace. Thus the painted 
sepulchre wears the garland-— while he is permitted 
to deceive, and grace bears the scandal ; when God 
fulfils his promise, The prating fool shall fall, Prov. 
x. 8. 

Ahimaaz. But there are many of these people 
who talk much of legal convictions and law terrors ; 
and you know that Paul says, it is experience that 
xvorketh hope* 

Cushi. The experience of pardon, peace, and 
reconcilation through Christ, and of regeneration 
by the Holy Ghost, worketh hope, but no other : 
the devils have experienced as many legal convic- 
tions, law terrors, motions of pride, workings of er- 
ror, and as much desperate rebellion, as all the hu- 
man race together, and yet are as far from hope as 
enmity and eternitv can set them. But the elect are 
predestinated : u In whom also we have obtained 
an inheritance, being predestinated according to the 
purpose of him who worketh all things after the 
counsel of his own will," Eph. i- 11. Hence they 
are said to have their names inrolled in the book of 
life ; and the book is signed by three immutable 
witnesses, and each witness has his name recorded 
in it, as appears by the Bible, and the Bible is a co- 
pv of the eternal counsel. u There are three that 



144 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER; 

bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and 
the Holy Ghost, and these three are one," 1. John 
v. 7. This book is sealed with seven seals, Rev. v. 
1. and delivered to the dear redeemer, as God the 
Father's will ; which will was to be obeyed by the 
Saviour, and made known to the chosen heirs. 
The conditions of it, such as magnifying the law, 
and satisfying divine justice, were to be punctually 
performed, and the Father's plan fully executed by 
the Lord Christ ; and so the inheritance was to be 
handed down to us by the Father's will, and the 
Son's testament ; of which will Christ is the Testa* 
tor, the Executor, and the Mediator. " And for 
this cause he is the Mediator of the new testament, 
that by means of [his] death, for the redemption of 
the transgressions that were [committed] under the 
first testament [or law], they which are called might 
receive the promise of eternal inheritance : for 
where a testament is, there must also of necessity 
be the death of the testator," Heb. ix. 15, 16. 
Our blessed Lord shewed this when he instituted 
the Lord's supper ; which prefigured the death of 
himself as the testator, and the benefits of the tes- 
tament, flowing to the innumerable multitude of 
chosen heirs. " For this is my blood of the new 
testament, which is shed for many for the remission 
of sins," Matt. xxvi. 2S. 

Ahimaaz. If this he the case, pray what became 
of the elect that went out of the world before the 
death of Christ ? How could the eternal inheritance 
be conveyed to them ? For the aposde says, " that 
a testament is of force after men are dead ; other- 
wise it is of no strength at all while the testator liv~ 
eth," Heb. ix. 17. 

Cushi. When the Saviour revealed the Father's 
will, and his own testament to Adam saying, a The 
seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head, 
and the serpent shall bruise the Saviour's heel/' his 



OR, SATAN'S LAW-SUIT WITH A SAINT. 145 

tth was implied in the promise, and clearly shewn 
by the sacrifice : and when Abel embraced the same 
promise by faith, his lamb prefigured the Lord's 
death ; hence Christ is said to die in the type ; and 
is therefore called " the lamb slain from the founda- 
tion of the world," Rev. xiii. 8. So that the testa- 
ment was of strength as soon as the first promise 
was confirmed by a sacrifice. And by those legal 
sacrifices u was die Gospel preached to the children 
of Israel," Heb. iv. 1, 2, 3, and those that rejected 
it, and trusted in the moral law, died in unbelief, 
and came short of the inheritance ; but those who 
mixed faith with the word received the benefits of 
the testament ; " they eat the spiritual meat, and 
drank the spiritual drink ; they drank of the rock 
that followed them, and that rock was Christ," 1 
Cor. x. 4. 

Moses was very particular in pointing the Israel- 
ites to this blessed Testator and testament ; for the 
tabernacle, which prefigured the church, the books 
likewise, and the people were all sprinkled, to shew 
that the church must be washed in the blood of the 
antetype ; and that the testament iAiist be confirmed 
by the blood of Christ, was shewed by sprinkling 
the books ; and that sinners hearts must be sprink- 
led from an evil conscience, was shewed by sprink- 
ling the people. " For when Moses had spoken 
" every precept to the people, according to the law, 
u (he then pointed them to the blood of Christ), he 
u took the blood of calves, and of goats, with wa- 
u ter and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled 
" both the books and all the people, saying, This is 
u the blood of the testament which God hath injoined 
" unto you. Moreover, he sprinkled likewise with 
" blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the 
" ministry. And almost all things are by the law 
" purged with blood :" and all this to let the sinner 
know, that M without shedding of blood is no remis- 
N 



146 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER j 

44 sion. It was therefore necessary that the patterns ot 
a things in the the heavens should be purified with 
44 these, but the heavenly things themselves with 
44 better sacrifices than these jV (and what sacrifices 
could they be but the body, blood, and soul of the 
Son of God ?) Heb.ix, 19—23, 

Ahimaaz. I am fully satisfied with the account, 
and have a most comfortable view of the eternal in- 
heritance : and blessed be God, I have had many 
sweet foretastes of it ; but Satan and my own unbe- 
lieving heart have often robbed me of my peace and 
comfort ; and indeed at times I have been sorely temp- 
ted to believe that I had neither part or lot in the mat- 
ter, I see the testament is well confirmed, and the 
inheritance richly secured, being witnessed by the 
eternal Three- — ratified by the seven fold seal of 
heaven-— and enjoined to us, with all its saving be- 
nefits, by the blood of the Son of God. And I am 
fully persuaded, that as the covenant is confirmed, 
no man disannulleth or addeth thereto. Gal. iii. 15* 
But I have often doubted of my right and title, and 
whether my evidences are real or not. 

Cushi. The eternal inheritance is handed down 
to us in an unconditional promise ; and as God is call- 
ed a believer's portion, so a believer is called an heir of 
God; and as the portion is held forth to us in a pro- 
mise, so a believer is called an heir of promise, to 
whom the inheritance is confirmed by oath. Heb. 
vi. 17 '• And the testament also is called the cove- 
nant cf promise, Eph. ii. 12. 

That which gives a man a right and title to it, in 
the first place, is the free invitation and promise of 
God : " Whosoever will, let him take the water of 
44 life freely," Rev. Xxii. 17. there is the invitation : 
44 and he that cometh to me I will in no wise cast 
44 out," John vi. 37. there is the .promise to the 
naming heir. 



or, satan's law suit with a saint. 147 

Secondly, That which makes manifest our sen- 
ship and heirship is the grace of faith ; " For ye 
" are all the children of God by faith in Christ Je- 
" sus," Gal. iii. 26. The appropriating act of faith 
is called a receiving' the promises — and a receiving 
Christ Jesus the Lord, Col. ii. 6. both are the same; 
for if we receive the promises, the Lord is our por- 
tion, held forth in the promise ; and when it is call- 
ed a receiving the Lord, it is the same ; " for all the 
" promises are in him yea and amen." 

Believing on the name of Christ for life and sal- 
vation is called a receiving of him : u He came to 
u his own, but his own received him not ; but to 
u as many as did receive him, to them gave he pow- 
u [or privilege] to become the sons of God, even to 
" them that believe on his name," John i. 12. Thus 
you see, that the privilege of sonship and heirship 
is made manifest to us by faith ; and faith ventures 
upon a divine grant. 

Faith is likewise called a substance, and an evi- 
dence ; " Now faith is the substance of things hoped 
• 4 for, and the evidence of things not seen," Heb. 
xi. 1. The things which a believer hopes for is the 
everlasting enjoyment of his God in heaven ; and 
as faith leads the mind to Christ, discovers Christ, 
lays hold of Christ, applies Christ, and gives Christ 
a dwelling in the heart by faith, Eph. iii. 17. it is 
called the substance of things hoped for ; and as 
the witness of God's Spirit always attends it, and as 
it impresses the mind with the strongest persuasion, 
and confirms and ratifies the truth of God to the be- 
lieving soul, it is called the evidence of things not 
teen. 

To be short; faith is a divine persuasion, a hum- 
ble confidence, a living fruit, an active grace, a dis- 
cerning- eye, an appropriating hand, and a moving 
foot. It is born of God ; it is a divine substance, 
not a shadow ; a living fruit of the Holy Ghost, not 



148 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER ; 

a barren assent ; a comfortable assurance of all 
promised good, and not a deceiving fancy : — The 
just live by it : they overcome the world by it : the 
saints conflicts are called faith* s fight, and their 
conquests are called faittfs victory. 

Faith is such a powerful demonstration to the be- 
liever's conscience, that if he were under a strong 
temptation, and violently beset with unbelief, he dare 
not deliberately lay his hand on his heart T look his 
maker in the face, and say he has neither part nor 
lot in his great station. Faith, as an evidence of 
things not seen, would gainsay every word of such 
a rash declaration, bring him in culpable of false- 
hood, and make him retract every word, even in 
the court of conscience; and " who against faith 
and conscience can be heard infallible (says Milton ;) 
yet many will presume." The Psalmist u said in 
his heart all men are liars, but he that believes is not 
to make haste, nor such hasty conclusions," Isa. 
xxviii. 16, for faith comes in as a deliberate evidence 
of the truth, and gainsays the whole of it, as may be 
seen in the Psalmist, this is my infirmity* 

Ahimaaz. But if God's grant, give me a right, 
and if faith secures inheritance to me, as the scrip- 
tures that you have quoted plainly prove, for they 
say " that God gave it to Abraham by promise ; and 
if they that are of the law be heirs, faith is made 
void, and the promise of none effect ;" and again, 
" for as many as are of faith are blessed with faith- 
ful Abraham," this is plainly proved. But then, 
why is a man said to obtain a right by doing P 
" Blessed $re they that do his commandments, that 
they may have right to the tree of life, and may en- 
ter in through the gates into the city," Rev. xxii. 14. 

Cusin. Take heed that you never expound one 
scripture to contradict another; if you do, you will 
make a jargon of the sweetest harmony, charge di- 
vine rectitude with inconsistency, and the God of 



oft, satan's law-suit with a saint. 149 

order with confusion; Wisdom says, u My mouth 
shall speak truth, and wickedness is an abomination 
to my lips. All the words of my mouth are in righte- 
ousness ; there is nothing fro ward or perverse in 
them. They are all plain to him that understandeth, 
and right to them that find knowledge," Prov. viii. 
T, 8, 9. Now to shew you the meaning of the above 
text, first I will grant it you in your own sense, and 
see how the current of scripture will harmonize 
with your opinion. We will suppose that a man in a 
state of nature never had committed an actual 
transgression ; though God declares that all have 
sinned, yet, for argument sake, we w r ill add to that 
man abstinence from sin— that he has observed every 
precept of the law externally, and lived exactly to 
that rule ; yet God " has concluded all men inunbe - 
lief," Rom. xi. 32. And what says God of his 
works — " whatsoever is not of faith is sin," Rom. 
xiv. 23, and again, "without faith it is impossible 
to please God," Heb. xi. 6. And what says the 
Judge himself of such a man — " he that believeth 
not shall be damned," Mark xvi. 16. What says 
God of his human righteousness — " woe to them 
that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that 
they may add sin to sin,*' Isa. xxx. 1. 

The grand points of the law are two, that a man 
love God with all his heart, and his neighbour as 
himself; en these two commandments hang all the 
law and the prophets. Thus you see all the law 
hangs on the hinge of love ; but what says God of 
the natural man ? why that the carnal mind is enmi- 
ty against God, that it is not subject to the law of 
God, nor indeed can be. Therefore the Holy Ghost 
concludes, " that if a man have all knowledge, and 
understands all mysteries, and speaks with the tongue 
of men and angels ; and if he give all his goods to 
feed the poor, and his body to be burned, and hath 
not charity, or love, it profiteth him nothing,'* 1 
k2 



150 THE JUSTIFICATION 01 A SIKNER ; 

Con chap. 13. He is still of the works of the law, 
and as many as are of the works of the law are un- 
der the curse ; for by the deeds of the law shall no 
flesh living he justified. Thus you see that your le- 
gal construction upon that text runs foul of half the 
word of God. Is not this " darkening counsel by 
words without knowledge ?" Job xxxviii. 2. Will 
not God say of y ou, that " ye have not spoken the 
thing that is right of me?" Job xlii. 8. 

Now let me shew you my opinion of that text. — 
What is God's command concerning Christ and his 
gospel * The text, you know, mentions doing his 
commandments ; why he says, " I will raise them 
up a prophet from among their brethren, like unto 
thee (Moses,] and will put my words in his mouth, 
and he shall speak unto them all that I shall com- 
mand him. And it shall come to pass, that whoso- 
ever will not hearken unto my words which he shall 
peak in my name, I will requite it of him," Deut. 
xviii. 18, 19. John brings this in, ci And this is his 
commandment, that we should believe on the name 
of his son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he 
gave us commandment," 1 John iii. 23. Now, sup- 
pose God should " open the door of faith to a man," 
Acts xiv. 27, and " fulfil all the good pleasure of 
his goodness in him and the work of faith with pow- 
er," 2 Thes. i. 11, insomuch that God should " pu- 
rify his heart by faith," Acts xv. 9, would not the 
above commands be obeyed by such a man ? seeing 
u he hath received grace (bij Christ JSoy obedience 
to the faith," Rom. i. 5, or, in other words, he hath 
been enabled to believe through grace ; or, by God's 
gracious gift of faith, he is enabled to believe and 
obey the gospel. 

Auimaaz. Certainlv the above commands are 
done, or obeyed by such a man ; because, as 5*ou 
say, he has received grace for obedience to the faith ; 
and if the grace of God doth not produce obedience 



OIL, SATAN'S LAW-SUIT WITH A SAINT. 151 

to the doctrines of faith, what does ? John says T 
a This is the victory that overcometh the world, even 
our faith;" but the world always overcomes an un- 
believer, and ever will. It is faith that purifies the 
heart ; and he that is destitute of this grace is filled 
with guilt, enmity, and errors, and therefore as far 
from doing the commandments as Satan himself, 

Cushi. Very true. Well, you find that all the 
law and the prophets hang on the hinge of love ; but 
no man by his natural power can reach this hinge, be- 
cause the carnal mind is enmity* Now, suppose 
God should fulfil this promise to a man, namely, 
" circumcise his heart to love the Lord God with all 
his heart, and with all his soul, that he might live," 
Deut. xxx. 6, and enable a man to say, as John did, 
we love him because he first loved us — and such a 
man doth in his heart love both God and his neigh- 
bour — would not such an one do the command- 
ments, seeing the scriptures declare, that love work- 
eth no ill to his neighbour, therefore love is the ful- 
filling of the law ? And what says God of the faith 
of that man ? why, he that believes shall be saved ; 
and what says the Holy Ghost of the love of him ? 
why he says, he that loveth dwelleth in God and God 
dwelleth in him. 

If; this be the truth of the matter, does not such a 
man do the commandments ? when God himself 
works in him both inclination and motion; or, to 
speak in the dialect of scripture, " it is God that 
works in him both to will and to do of his good 
pleasure," Phil. ii. 13. And if it be God's work in 
him, what has such a man to glory in but the grace 
of God ? Faith is the gift of God, and the work of 
God ; " this is the work of God, that ye believe on 
him whom he hath sent," John vi. 29. It is real 
faith in Jesus Christ, and pure love to God, that pro- 
duces evangelical obedience : as it is written, the 
grace of God " teacheth men to deny ungodliness 



152 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER 1 

and worldly lust, and to live soberly, righteously* 
and godly in die world," Tit. ii. 12. Therefore we 
may conclude, that whosoever does not attribute his 
obedience to the grace of God, robs God of the 
glory of his own work ; and he that ascribes ft to 
free-will and human power, deifies himself 

Ahimaaz, I am sweetly instructed, and abun- 
dantly s^isfied, with your opinion of the text, it tal- 
lies so exactly with my own experience ; nor do I 
believe that all the advocates for free-will and self 
righteousness upon earth could erase your evangeli- 
cal sentiments from my judgment. I evidently see 
that it is the faithful man to whom the great reward 
is promised ; and it is audacious pride in men to at- 
tribute that glory to fleshly works which is due only 
to the God of grace : the humble believer is pre- 
served, while the lofty work-monger meets with his 
just deserts. Well might the Psalmist say, " O love 
the Lord all ye his saints : for the Lord preserveth 
the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud 
doer," Psalm xxxi. 23. It is clear to me that your 
doctrine wisely secures the glory of our salvation 
to God, and affords comfort and establishment to his 
adopted children ; and, if I am not much mistaken, 
the glory of God, and the salvation of his elect by 
Jesus Christ, was the ultimate end that God had in 
view when he created the world ; and that end he still 
aims at in his redeeming and reconciling sinners to 
himself; yea, his government of the world, as well 
as his works of creation and redemption, of provi- 
dence and grace, was from the first the great and 
grand design of the Almighty; which will be ac- 
complished when God displays the riches of his 
grace in glory by Jesus Christ. Then it shall be 
u known by the church, to the principalities and 
powers in heavenly places, the manifold wisdom of 
God," Eph. iii. 30. 



on, satan's law-suit with a saini. 15o 

Cushi. Now you speak like one of the true cir- 
cumsicion, which worship God in the Spirit, rejoice 
in Christ Jesus, and place no confidence in the flesh* 
But in some things I think you savour so much of the 
old cask, that you are like Moab, settled on your lees, 
Jer. xlviii. 11. 

Ahimaaz. Though you are not a professor of 
Greek or Hebrew, yet I find you are a very nice 
critic in the language of Canaan, Isa. xix. 18. 

Cushi. I have often heard of gentlemen who 
have endeavoured to tear me to pieces for a breach 
of grammar, which is but a breach of sense and 
sounds at most, andean only communicate a jargon 
to the ear ; while such have made fifty breaches in 
divinity in one discourse, which ministers destruc- 
tion to the soul. Therefore an ungrammatical di- 
vine is ten thousand times better than a learned and 
eloquent Deist, though he be dignified with the title 
of learned. The blessed Saviour never made one 
breach in divinity, though, according to our rules, 
he made one in grammar, when he said, before Abra- 
ham was I AM. 

But to return to our subject; the glory of all 
good works wrought in men ought to be attributed 
to God, from whom eveiy good and every perfect 
gift cometh. Hence the real church of God owns, 
to the honour of her head, that u the Lord had 
wrought all her works in her," Isa. xxvi. 12. For 
my part I have narrowly observed the lives of God's 
elect, who appear to be sound in the truth, and called 
by grace ; and by what I can gather, they are the 
only workers unto the kingdom of God. I general- 
ly find them employed like thdr blessed Lord $ 
sometimes weeping and carrying the cross ; at other 
times employed in acts of charity to the utmost of 
their ability; at other times at war with some sore 
temptation, besetting sin, or spreading error ; at other 
times opposing the wise disputers of this world, who 



154 THE JUSTIFICATION OF. A SINNER J 

appose the sovereignty of their Maker, and justify 
themselves ; sometimes I find them at the work of 
self-examination; at other times citing themselves 
before the tribunal of God for some misdemeanor, 
fighting against the flesh r confessing their faults, jus- 
tifying their God, imploring forgiveness, and seek- 
ing reconciliation with him, as the summit of all their 
happiness; sometimes I find them bemoaning the 
loss of their Lord, and earnestly seeking his face ; 
at other times with the state of some poor sinner on 
their minds, travelling in birth till Christ be formed 
in him ; at other times " with the high praises of 
God in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their 
hand," Psalm cxlix. 6 ; at other times I find them 
condoling the miserable, or weeping with that weep ; 
and sometimes u holding forth the word of life, as 
good stewards of the manifold grace of God," 1 
Pet. iv. 10, in short, I never could apply the Lord's 
divine salutation of all hail. Matt- xxviii. 9, to any 
but to these ; for these, in the strictest sense of the 
word, may be called holy workfolks. 

I have narrowly watched the various tribes of le- 
gal workers, and indeed they sometimes seem to 
out-run the real saint in outward appearance ; but, 
as the Lord says, there are last that shall be first, 
and first last; for many are called, but few chosen. 
While the self-righteous remain destitute of grace, 
whatever outward shew they may make, God is not 
glorified in them; their principles are corrupt, their 
judgments filled with confusion ; their motives are 
base (while destitute of the faith of God's elect, and 
self is the end aimed at in all their shew of devo-* 
tion ;.) they expect to bring in God a debtor to them, 
while, as the Lord sa x ys, all their works are to be seen 
of men. I have often heard them abuse the sove- 
reignty of God, and attribute tyranny to their Maker, 
whose judgment must be according to truth ; at other 
times calling his decrees blasphemous, though they 



oh, satan's law-suit with a saint. 

bring forth a saving knowledge of God's mind and 
will, and make the barren heart of a sinner like a 
fruitful field ; at other times, I find them abusing the 
testimony of God's servants — construing their words 
to a sense they never intended — and drawing con- 
clusions that never entered their thoughts, in order 
to bring the grace of God into contempt; at other 
times, I find them so profuse with the mercy of God, 
as to entail it on all the human race; and at other 
times so sparing, as to declare that some of the Lord's 
redeemed are in hell. In short, pride, arrogance, 
self-seeking, and self-deifying, is all that ever I 
could see in the self-righteous free-wilier ; confound- 
ing the sense of God's ivord, and rebellion against 
his sovereign will, has ever discovered itself in all 
that I have had a knowledge of; and such proceed- 
ings appear to me to be no better than an introduc- 
tion to the performances exhibited in hell. 

O sinner, lay by pleading thy own merit, for God 
will surely reject thy confidences to the end of the 
chapter: " Many will say unto me in that day, Lord, 
Lord, have we not prophecied in thy name ? and in 
thy name have cast out devils ? and in thy name done 
many wonderful works ? And then will I profess 
unto them, I never knew you ; depart from me, ye 
that w^ork iniquity," Matt. vii. 22, 23. Thus you 
see that hell itself will not cure the legalist of boast- 
ing; nor will the encomiums of the Judge himself 
ever set the elect at it ; they will stick to their being- 
unprofitable servants to the last, as has been already 
observed; and it must be so, for the Lord declares 
that " he that humbleth himseli shall be exalted, and 
he diat exalteth himself shall be abased." 

Ahimaaz. I see clearly that faith is a soul-hum- 
bling, self-emptying, and self-abasing grace, as well 
as an evidence of things not seen ; but I am at times 
led to doubt whether I have any faith at all. 



155 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER 1 * 

Cushi. Didst thou never discover in the word 
of God, as well as in the first open vision that thou 
hadst, an amiableness and a suitableness in the Sa- 
viour, as he is set forth in the word, insomuch that 
thy very soul went out after him? that was Faith's 
eye that discovered the object of life; " He that fol- 
loweth me shall not walk in darkness, but he shall 
have the light of life," John viii. 12. And hast 
thou not found thy heart so bent for a part and lot in 
him, that all the world hath appeared as nothing 
when compared to him ? that is Faith's power, in- 
clining the will to chuse and embrace him above all 
othei objects : he that comes to God must believe 
that he is a rewarder; and again, Faith lays hold on 
eternal life. Thus Faith shines on the understand- 
ing, and discovers the Saviour as the object most 
desirable, and then inclines the will to chuse him ; 
and then, lastly, she calls in love to admire her choice ; 
this is the grace that availeth — "Neither circumcision 
availethany thing nor uncircumcision, but faith work- 
eth by love," Gal. v. 6. And as soon as love comes 
into the soul, she casts out slavish fear, and brings in 
her own attendants, which are joy and peace — u God 
fill you with joy and peace in believing," Rom. xv. 
13. The believer now cannot express his sensa- 
. tions — " whom having not seen he loves ; and 
though now he sees him not, yet, believing, he re- 
joices with joy unspeakable and full of glory," 1 
Pet. i. 8. 

Ahimaaz. What you have said of faith my soul 
has often experienced, and sweetly enjoyed ; there- 
fore I hope I am really blessed with that spiritual 
grace ; and I do find that it purifies my heart — for 
answers of pardon and peace are often brought to 
me from the Saviour by Faith's prayer. 

Cushi. Then thou art upon the foundation, and 
may say with the Apostle, " that is the confidence 
that we have in him, that if we ask he heareth us, 



OR, SATAVS LAW-SUIT WITH A SAINT. 1^2 

and we have the thing desired/' 1 John v. 14. Thy 
faith is genuine — a real evidence of things not seen. 
Poverty of spirit is a sure mark of those that shall 
u obtain the prize of the high calling of God in 
Christ Jesus," Phil. iii. 14. When a man sees the 
insufficiency of his own righteousness, he accepts 
an imputed one ; when he feels his lost estate, he is 
shankful for a Saviour ; when he is conscious of the 
infinite debt that he has contracted, he flies to the 
surety ; and when sensible of the deceitfulness of 
his own heart, that he dares place no confidence in 
the flesh, he embraces die rock for want of a shelter ; 
and when his refuges of lies are all swept away, and 
his false hopes rooted up, then he digs deep, and 
founds all on the Rock of Ages. This is the man 
that is poor in spirit : — Stripped of pride, and hum- 
ble in heart, like the poor Prodigal, he comes to 
God, with humble confession, knocks at Mercy's 
door, and begs the bread of heaven ; such an one is 
sure of the prize — M Blessed are the poor in spirit, 
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" Matt. v. 3. 

Thirdly, the Holy Ghost is sent into the believer's 
heart, to influence, enlighten, and instruct his un- 
derstanding and conscience, and to bear a joint wit- 
ness with conscience that the believer is justified by 
his faith ; — where there used to be nothing but the 
sentence of self-condemnation, and the tormenting 
accusation of an evil conscience. Things are so 
changed, that the believer finds the accusation is 
silenced, and a joint testimony for God is evidently 
felt and enjoyed ; — - M he that believeth hath the wit- 
ness in himself, for the spirit beareth witness," 1 
John v. 6, 10. These things enable souls to say, 
Our rejoicings is this, the testimony of our consci- 
ence ; as I said before, the believer hath a joint wit- 
ness ; u for the Spirit beareth witness with our 
spirits that we are the children of God," Rom. 
viii. 16. Thus you see that love, joy, peace, and 
O 



\5S THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER^ 

faith, are the jirst fruits of the Spirit, Rom, viii* 
23 ; and the spirit of these fruits/ is the foretaste, 
and the " earnest of our [future] inheritance, until the 
redemption of the purchased possession, unto the 
praise of his glory," Eph. i- 14. 

Akimaaz. I clearly see that my soul is interested 
in the covenant of grace ; nor am .1 without the evi- 
dence, the first fruits, and the earnest that you have 
mentioned ; and I believe, according to my present 
frame and views, that I shall never doubt again ; 
* l thou, Lord, of thy goodness, hast made my hill 
so strong." I suppose that Prodigalis enjoyed these 
Jieavenly blessings in Christ Jesus, these sweet fore- 
tastes of heaven, in a wonderful degree ; for it is 
often seen, that a miserable Prodigal meets with a 
' conspicuous deliverance, and a soul-humbling re- 
ception, when God gives him repentance unto life. 
And indeed if such poor souls had not, it would be 
impossible for them to believe to their eternal salva- 
tion ; they having such a dreadful sight of an angry 
God, and their sinful selves, it requires a work of 
faith with power, to put their unbelief to the blush, 
and the devil and conscience to silence ; nothing will 
confound these but a wonderful ray, an almighty 
deliverance, and a divine and all-prevailing evi- 
dence. 

Cushi. That Is another excellent speech ; you 
begin to mend upon it, I th ; nk. But to your enqui- 
ry. Prodigalis did, I believe enjoy as much ot 
the foretastes of heaven as most do, until the spi- 
rit of gi*ace had armed him with the whole armour 
of God, and then he led him forth as an armed 
soldier of Jesus Christ, to be tempted of the devil. 

Akimaaz. It is amazing to me that the devil 
should be so unwearied in tempting the children oi 
God, seeing he has met with nothing but repeated 
disappointments ; besides, the Saviour has promised 
power to his children, sufficient to vanquish "all 



or, satan's law-suit with a saint. 159 

the power of the devil; insomuch that nothing shall 
by any means hurt them," Luke x. 19. The devil 
must know this, because he never could destroy one 
of God's elect ; " and as the gates of hell shall not 
prevail," Matt. xvi. 18. I am surprized that Satan 
does not raise the siege as an assailant, and get wea- 
ry of the suit as a plaintiff. 

Cushi. There is no likelihood of that ; Satan 
still ploughs in hope ; and though he cannot destroy 
the elect, yet if he can destroy their peace, or get 
them to rebel against God, it is pleasing to him : 
the devil has a feast when we have a fast. And on 
the other hand, when we are on the mount the devil 
has a double hell : besides, his enmity against 
Christ and his elect is so deeply rooted, that he can- 
not endure the sovereignty of the Saviour, nor the 
objects of his choice. 

Ahimaaz. But why is the devil so incensed a- 
gainst the Saviour, any more than against God the 
Father ? 

Cushi. Several reasons may be assigned for it ; 
First, The Lord Christ left the rebel-angels in their 
rebellion, when he charged them with folly, Job. iv. 
18. Secondly, He cursed and condemned their 
prime leader in Eden, Gen. iii. 14, Thirdly, He 
reserved them in everlasting chains [debarred of 
light] under darkness to the final judgment, Jude 6* 
while, on the other hand, he confirmed the elect an- 
gels by an irrevocable decree ; took thern from the 
basis of free-will ; and fixed them in immutable love 
and almighty power ; so as to render it impossible 
for them ever to fell, as the other had done. They 
are not left now to the freedom of their own will, 
but confirmed in their glorious Head Christ ; who 
is therefore called, the Head of all principality and 
power, Col. ii. 10. And as the angels are confirm * 
ed by the Saviour in eternal friendship, their wil- 
lingness to renounce their former standing in the 



160 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SIGNER J 

freedom of their own will ; their ready acquies- 
cence in, and thankful acceptance of confirmation in 
Christ the elect Head, in whom God had predesti- 
nated- their everlasting standing : for this reason, 
they are called elect angels ; and their acquiescence 
is called a reconciliation, though they were never at 
enmity. : " And having made peace through the 
blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things to 
himself ; by him, I say, whether they be things in 
earth or things in heaven" Col. i. 20. 

This is one cause of the devil's enmity against 
election ; and he has got thousands in the world who 
make a profession of religion that are influenced by 
him, and boldly espouse and defend his cause against 
the sovereign will of the Almighty. The great and 
terrible day of the Lord will discover many wonder- 
ful and awful scenes of this sort, to the everlasting 
confusion of many who now triumph in it. 

Secondly, It is a most galling and degrading con- 
sideration to a proud and lofty spirit, as the devil 
is, that fallen men, after they were seduced by Sa- 
tan, were found under the condemnation and curse 
of God, as well as themselves ; and when both na- 
tures appeared before God equally condemned and 
on a level ; that the Saviour should reject the ange- 
lic nature, and assume the human- — u for verily he 
took not on him the nature of angels, but he took 
on him the seed of Abraham," Heb. ii. 16. This 
sovereign act — this discriminating grace of the Sa- 
viour, the devil hates. 

Thirdly, By the Saviour's death on the cross the 
devil suffered loss in his kingdom ; his dark domi- 
nions were wonderfully discovered ; the destroying 
power of sin (the main pillar of his empire) was ta- 
ken away, insomuch that it shall never destroy one 
of God's elect. The devil was cast down as an ac- 
cuser, and cannot in one sense be called the god of 
this xvorld, for the heir of all things overcame 
him. 



on, satan's law-suit with a saint. 1G1 

Death, another inferior sovereign in Satan's do- 
minions, was plagued, and shall surely be destroyed, 
Hosea xiii. 14. Satan, sin, and death were tri- 
umphed over, and exposed openly on the cross, 
Col. ii. 15 ; the devil led captive by the Saviour, 
Epru iv. 8 ; and a kingdom of grace set up in the 
world, that shall surely demolish his, Dan. vii. 14. 

Another reason that may be assigned of the devil's 
malice is, that the Saviour, whom he so hates, will 
bring him and all his legions forth to judgment : 
Satan is reserved under darkness to judgment ; and 
then the Lord will expose or reveal thexvhole mystery 
of iniquity, 2 Thess. ii. 7, 8. Then shall the saints 
appear in the truth which the devil left, as Esther did. 
in Vashti's palace, Esther ii. 17 ; for they " shall be 
as the angels of God in heaven," Matt. xxii. 30, 
while fallen angels shall be left on a level with fallen 
men; not at all superior, unless it be in misery : 
hence you read of sinners going in company with 
the devil and his angels, Matt. xxv. 41. But the 
most tormenting thought to infernal pride is, that 
elected, redeemed, and restored men shall judge 
these infernal kings, princes, and protentates v 
" Know ye not that we shall judge angels ?" 1 Cor. 
vi. 3. In that day it will appear, that those that died 
in free will and self-righteousness will be found 
among the black brigade^ as sure as there is a God 
that judgeth right. 

These are some of the reasons that may be assign- 
ed for the devil's unlimited malice against the Sa- 
viour and his elect ; therefore it is vain for the elect 
to expect reconciliation, seeing God has declared 
the war : and we may say of Satan's envy as the 
learned Milton does : 

" Never can true reconcilement grow, 

" Where deadly hate has piere'd so deep,- 53 



162 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER ; 

Hence we may warrantably conclude, that the devil 
will never raise the siege while God has a church in 
the world ; nor will he ever drop the suit, as a plain- 
tiff, as long as he can draw one believer to listen to 
his lies, yield to his temptations, or fret at his accu- 
sations. 

Ahimaaz. Pray how did he begin with Prodi- 
galis ? I suppose in a furious way, because he had 
formerly been a faithful servant to the devil ; and as 
he knew many of his wiles, he was the better able 
to expose them : it is often seen that such are the 
most valiant for truth, the most loyal to the Saviour, 
and the most fervent in prayer. They that are 
u faithful to the unrighteous mammon will be so to 
the true riches,*' Luke xvi. 11. " They that have 
much forgiven will love much," Luke vii. 47 ; and 
u to whom men have committed much, of him they 
will ask the more," Luke xii. 48. 

Cushi. You must know, that Prodigalis, being 
so conspicuously delivered, he thought the devil 
was so rebuked as never to attack him again ; nor 
did he in the least suspect that the evils of his heart 
would ever make a second appearance ; nor that he 
should ever lose sight of the Saviour. In this secure 
frame he was altogether unprepared for trial ; the 
devil knew this, and therefore caught the opportu- 
nity. A believer may often be charged with being 
off his guard; but no such charge can justly be 
brought against the devil ; in this point he is wiser 
than the. children of light* 

When the devil came to him he first poured a 
whole shower of fiery darts into his mind ; the cor- 
ruption of his heart caught the flame, " and the 
whole course of nature was set on iire of hell," 
James iii. vi. The smoke beclouded his under- 
standing; or (as Paul says), "the God of this world 
had blinded his eyes :" his judgment was confused, 
and every divine sensation seemed to be swallowed 



or, satan's law-suit with a saint. 168 

up with horror and dismay. Satan having thus 
gained an advantage of him, he presented him afresh 
to the bar of judicature, and there accused him of 
the very blasphemous thoughts which himself inject- 
ed into his mind ; he tempted him to believe that he 
had-fell from grace ; he suggested hard thoughts of 
the Saviour to him, and then accused him of it. He 
suggested to him that he had sinned against the Holy 
Ghost ; and that all the confusion and horror that 
Prodigalis felt were the effects of the just judgment 
of God for his unpardonable sin ; and was no less 
than an earnest of what he would suffer to eternity. 

Prodigalis felt for his soul-comforting witness, but 
he could not feel him; his faith seemed not to do 
her usual office : therefore the poor soul, sunk into 
the real fears of death, and horrors of hell as bad 
as ever. Destruction appeared on one side, and 
Satan on the other ; and the devil brought many of 
Moses's old accusations against him, as if it were 
Moses that was accusing him as an unbeliever. 

Poor Prodigalis never was more confounded than 
now : at his first trial he had no sensible hope of 
mercy ; but to be arraigned, after justification, was 
a mystery too profound for him to make a judgment 
of. Therefore he gave all over for lost ; not doubting 
but he was given up as a reprobate into the hands 
of Satan ; and that he would certainly prevail to 
make him vent the horror and rebellion of his bur- 
dened heart in blasphemous expressions. 

While Prodigalis was sinking in despondency, 
these words came with a divine power to his mind ; 
" Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery 
trial which is to try you, as though some strange 
thing happened unto you : but rejoice inasmuch as 
ye are made partakers of Christ's sufferings," 1 Pet. 
i\\ 12, 13. These words gained the attention of 
the poor man, which Satan could not endure ; for 
he can do nothing with us any longer than while he 



164 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER ? 

employs our mind, and we are attentive to his lies ; 
which is his wisdom and our folly. 

The devil perceiving that poor Prodigalis was 
attentive to another voice, laid violently against 
him ; but the other having received a little encou- 
ragement from the above text, was persuaded that 
he should enjoy the sentence of justification again : 
nay, he was persuaded that it would come with 
power a second time : and therefore he put up these 
petitions; "Hear the right, O Lord! attend unto 
my cry ; give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not 
out of feigned lips : let my sentence come forth 
from thy presence : let thine eyes behold the things 
that are equal. Thou hast proved mine heart ; thou 
hast visited me in the night ; thou hast tried me," 
Psalm xvii. 1, 2, 3. 

As soon as Prodigalis had ended his petitions, 
the glorious Advocate answere'd his prayer in the 
joy of his heart ; and applied these words with such 
power, that the sham court grew too hot for the 
cunning accuser ; a No weapon formed against thee 
shall prosper, and every tongue that shall rise a- 
gainst thee in judgment thou shalt condemn," Isa. 
xliv. 17. — Poor Prodigalis recovering his spiritual 
mighty and seeing his beclouded evidences appear 
if possible, ten times brighter than ever, ajid finding 
the word of God flow in upon his mind, he laid 
hold of the sword of the Spirit, and said to his ac- 
cuser, " It is God that justifieth ; who is he that 
eonclemneth ? it is Christ that died," Rom. viii. 33. 
The devil immediately vanished, 

This sham trial served to teach Prodigalis the use 
of God's sword ; and evidently fulfilled the scrip- 
turs, " Submit yourselves therefore to God ; resist 
the devil, and he will flee from you," James iv. 7. 

Ahimaaz. I dare say the poor man found his love 
warmer — his faith stronger — and saw the office, use, 
and faithfulness of his Advocate in a clearer light than 



165 

ever he had done before. There are none that know 
but those who experience it, how the immutable 
love of God, and the faithfulness of the Saviour 
(which appears in so many repeated deliverances), 
does endear the Almighty to the poor helpless believ- 
er, who is perpetually buffeted by the common ene- 
my of God and man. 

Cushi. Indeed Prodigalis never had seen the 
Saviour in his office as an Advocate but once before, 
and in this confusion he had lost sight of him ; but by 
means of trials we are led to feel our need of the 
Saviour in every character that he sustains, which 
we know nothing of until various trials make us 
sensible of our need of them, and the Saviour con- 
descends to appear in and fulfil them. 

And I doubt the want of observing and consider- 
ing these things is one reason of the dejection of too 
many precious souls in our days. Our kind inter- 
cessor ought to be viewed in that office every time 
we pray. As our Mediator he is wanted when there 
appears a controversy between God and conscience. 
An advocate and a wonderful counsellor must be felt 
for in temptations, or else the accuser's wisdom will 
be too much for us. And these characters our Lord 
sustains ; and he will ever discharge his offices with 
divine rectitude, if the prayer of faith implores his 
aid. 

Prodigalis was so confirmed in the faithfulness of 
his Lord, and in the power of faith, that he secretly 
wished the same trial to come over again, that he 
might shew his loyalty, his love, and his faithfulness 
10 his Lord, and not dishonour him by his unbelief, 
as he had done, in giving place to the devil ; which 
he saw was a sin reflecting dishonour on every per- 
fection of his Lord. 

Ahimaaz. He had better have left his resolutions 
out of the conflict ; for if Satan were to be let loose 
upon him an hundred times, if the spirit of faith 



166 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER ; 

ceased to operate, he would feel the workings of un- 
belief more or less. I have been vain enough ere 
now, when I have found my heart fixed, and my 
consolations powerful, to defy a temptation ; think- 
ing that my mountain stood so strong that I should 
never be moved. But alas ! what are the best of 
men against Satan's rage, if not panoplyed and for- 
tified by the great Jehovah ? It was not without 
cause that Paul bid Timothy be strong in the grace 
that is in Christ Jesus : which strength consists in 
a firm persuasion of the immutable love, promised 
aid, and momentary support of the Almighty God 
and Saviour Christ Jesus. 

Cushi. It is true what you say : but as Satan 
desires to have us, that he may sift us as wheat, for his 
own gratification, so the Lord does sometimes ena- 
ble his children to triumph over him in turn : " Re- 
joice not against me, O mine enemy ! when I fall I 
shall arise : when I sit in darkness the Lord shall 
be a light unto me," Micah vii. 8. I do not say 
that the above text is a direct answer to the devil 
himself; but as he is the chief agent of all the en- 
mity that is displayed against the children of God, 
it is, in the strictest sense, applicable to him ; agree- 
able to the Saviour's method, when Satan tempted 
Peter to stand in the Lord's way, the Lord rebuked 
the agent of the action, get thee behind me, Satan. 
When the Jews persecuted and blasphemed him, he 
said, you are of your father the devil, and the lust 
of your father ye will do. When his enemies came 
to take him, he said, this is your hour and the pow- 
ers of darkness. And when Judas had yielded the bent 
of his mind to gender with the devif s influence, the 
Lord withdrew his own restraining power, opened 
his heart with a sop, that Judas might perpetrate the 
murder that bis wicked and mercenary heart had 
conceived : and when he had received the sop, Sa- 
tan entered into him ; and immediately after the 



OR, SATAVS LAW-SUIT WITH A SAINT. 167 

•\onception was brought forth, in his betraying the 
innocent Son of God. 

Ahimaaz. You are right in levelling your arrow 
at the devil ; for I believe there is no wickedness 
practised by mortals, but he is chief agent in the 
scheme, and a joint executor of it. But I suppose 
that Satan did not attempt to bring poor Prodigalis 
a second time to his sham court of judicature; 
did he ? 

Cushi. Indeed Satan brought him to his sham 
court of judicature more than once, twice, or thrice : 
but not the next time; if he had, Prodigalis had 
been in a measure prepared for him. But the devil 
finds that we have various discipline to pass through, 
therefore he varies his snares also : for should he 
constantly way- lay us in one continued path, the 
bird would soon get as cunning as the fowler : for as 
the wise man says, " surely in vain the net is spread 
in the sight of any bird," Prov. i. 17. No, no ; Sa- 
tan (in this sense) is no fool ; though (in another 
sense) he is the greatest of fools ; because he is the 
first transgressor ; supreme in mischief, and su- 
preme in misery ; the farthest from God, and con- 
sequently the farthest from true wisdom. 

Ahimaaz. Pray, how did he intangle Prodigalis 
the third time ? I long to hear ; because some part 
of your relation so well agrees with my own expe- 
rience ; and that is refreshing and establishing to 
me. For my part, I am for what I can get ; and 
you know that Paul tells us to covet earnestly the 
best gifts. 

Cushi. Indeed you have spoken the truth ; you 
are in reality for what you can get ; and one of the 
best sucklings that ever I took to nourish : and would 
to God that I was as good a wet nurse as Paul was 
in his days, when he said, " But we were gentle a- 
mong vou, even as a nurse cherisheth her children," 
1 Thess. ii. 7. 



168 THE JUSTIFICATION G£ A SINNER > 

The way that Satan made his next attempt on 
Prodigalis was as follows : The poor man expected, 
that if ever Satan made another attempt, it would 
be in the old way, in which he thought he should be 
able to meet him : this made him too secure. 
Therefore Satan laid by his violent assaults, and his 
cloven foot, and endeavoured to come in imitation 
of the workings of grace ; or, as the apostle says, 
u He transformed himself into an angel of light :" 
and catching Prodigalis off his watch-tower, and too 
secure, he insensibly led him to the court of equity ; 
where he endeavoured to enthrone human reason, 
as the only competent judge of right and wrong. 
This scheme took with Prodigalis : he had not the 
least suspicion of the devil being in all this : there- 
fore, instead of resisting him, he gave him all pos- 
sible attention, and he was determined to hear him 
out. Satan having gained his ear and attention, 
proceeded to start ev ry puzzling difficulty, and 
seeming contradiction, in form following : The 
plaintiff sheweth, First, That there are many mys- 
teries in the Bible dark and obscure, and the best 
and wisest of men differ in judgment respecting 
them. Secondly, That the mystery of the Trinity 
is incomprehensible ; and that thousands of the wise 
and learned people deny that. Thirdly, That the 
path to heaven by regeneration is a path that excludes 
thousands of souls from salvation ; and is a road that 
is to the last degree perilous. Fourthly, That the 
greatest part that are venturing on that hazardous 
journey are poor illiterate and despicable people. 
Fifthly, That those who are the leaders of such bigot- 
ted'people are, in the general, people lightly esteem- 
ed, much despised, yea, and stoutly withstood by 
the great, wise, and learned of the world. Sixthly, 
That the doctrine of election leaves wife, family, 
friends, yea, and perhaps all that are near or dear 
in the ties of affinity or blood, out of the number 



or, satan's law suit with a saint. 16$ 

saved* Seventhly, the plaintiff she weth, That the best 
of friends and of benefactors, as well as the majority of 
the whole world, are averse to it and incensed against 
it. Eighthly, That the Most High might have pre- 
vented the fall of men and devils if he would. Ninthly, 
That all domestic comforts in wife, family, food, and 
pleasure, must be foregone, if divine impressions 
were lasting, conscience kept tender, or the daily 
cross continued. Tenthly, That fasting, prayer, 
self-denial, and hourly abstinence, must be rigidly 
pursued, or else all would fall to ruins at last, and 
hell would be the hotter for such a barren profession. 
Eleventhly, That Cain, Judas, Esau, and Saphira, 
had fell after all their profession ; and were worse 
than those that never made any : for xvhere little 
was given little would be required; and there- 
fore the more ignorant the more safe. Twelfth- 
ly, That the path to heaven was straight and nar- 
row, and people that would be singular in religion 
were exposed to all the shafts of men and devils ; 
and that Christ was an austere and rigid master ; 
that there would be nothing but cross upon cross, as 
we see in Job ; and stripe upon stripe, as in Ephraim, 
even to the end of the journey* Thirteenthly, That 
the conjugal enjoyment of a wife, an affectionate 
indulgence of a child, a jocose word, an innocent 
smile, or even a genteel suit of apparel, would be an 
iniquity to be punished by the judge; the Lord, whose 
name is Jealous, is so jealous a GocL 

The plaintiff further shewed, That the Bible was a 
doubtful revelation ; many obscure phrases, and 
seeming contradictions, appeared palpable in it : and 
that many of the learned and wise had examined it, 
arraigned it, and condemned it ; and had set up their 
own unbiassed and unerring reason as the only lord 
paramount, deemed capable of censuring and deter- 
mining every matter in debate relative to heaven, 
earth, or hell. 
P 



170 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER ', 

The plaintiff further shewed, That the continual 
cross that generally attended those of this singular 
way of religion was, that there would be an heart 
to love, and an eye to pity the poor, which would 
be crossed with a beggar's pocket : there would be 
an uncommon bigotted spirit to the singular party in 
religion, and a great anxiety to make proselytes, 
which would be crossed with a heavy persecution. 
Spending time in this service, and neglecting other 
business, had, and would again bring many to suffer 
hunger, cold and nakedness* Besides, people of this 
strange way make the path to heaven much more dif- 
ficult than it really is : They are righteous overmuch, 
and ready to destroy themselves at it : they talk of 
being partakers of the divine nature, and keep press- 
ing after such a degree of holiness by the Spirit, as 
they call it, that their sin is not unlike Adam's, who 
wanted to be like God. 

And lastly, the plaintiff added, That the things 
which he had mentioned were consonant, and not 
repugnant to some of the plain parts of what is call- 
ed scripture : where God (if he be the author of the 
book) says, Let us reason together, Isa. i. 18. 
Ahimaaz. Why, the devil is an excellent pleader* 
Cushi. In one sense he is ; but not in another ; 
he can plead against us; but he is too proud to plead 
guilty before God, too vile to plead innocent ; jand 
without a foundation to plead for mercy. The devil 
brought all these things to Prodigalis, in order to 
prejudice his mind against the truth of God, that he 
might raise rebellion in his heart. Nor was Satan's 
attempt without effect ; for Prodigalis did not ex- 
pect a temptation with so mild a bait : he expected 
that every appearance of Satan would be in a storm ; 
and therefore he listened to him : carnal reason ap- 
proved of the suggestions ; flesh and blood also 
gave into it ; and, by the assistance of unbelief, 
Satan carried all before him. 



or, satan's law-suit with a saint. 171 

Now was Prodigalis filled with carnal reasonings 
about the sovereign grace of his Maker ; the peri- 
lous path to heaven ; and the few, the very few that 
seemed to be travelling on that singular way. He 
soon found the government of the world, and the 
salvation of all the human race, to lay with an into- 
lerable weight upon his shoulders ; and he was im- 
piously led to infringe upon the prerogative of his 
Lord, whose undoubted u right it is to do as he will 
with his own," Matt. xx. 15, without " giving an 
account of any of his matters," Job xxxiii. 13. 

Ahimaaz. There is one thing* in Satan's plea 
that I am amazed at ; and that is, that those who 
were singular in their religion were exposed to " all 
the shafts of men and devils :" can Satan speak a- 
gainst himself ? 

Cushi. Satan is not divided against himself in 
the management of his kingdom ; if he was, how 
could his kingdom stand P But he can speak a- 
gainst himself, deny himself, and rebuke himself, 
when these things will serve his turn. He speaks 
against himself in every false prophet that rebukes 
sin ; he denies himself in every deist that denies the 
being or existence of fallen angels ; and he rebuked 
himself, when some of his own children (in mockery 
of Paul) were commanding of an evil spirit to leave 
the heart of a sinner ; whose answer was, " Paul I 
know, but who are you?" and then " overcame 
them, and sent them out of the house wounded and 
naked," Acts xix. 16. 

Poor Prodigalis began to be timorous about the 
difficult way to the kingdom ; he yielded to the car- 
nal fear of man, and trembled at persecution ; flesh 
and blood was consulted about the doctrine of par- 
ticular redemption ; and carnal reason bore violent- 
ly against the doctrines of election and predestina- 
tion ; which influenced Prodigalis with a spirit of 
murmuring and rebellion against the discriminating 



172 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER ° 9 

grace of his God ; but he soon found, like Paul, that 
it was hard work to kick against the pricks : he found 
his mind began to be confused ; fear and horror laid 
a fresh hold of his conscience ; no peace of mind 
was enjoyed ; his mouth at a throne of grace was 
stopped ; a sense of the divine favour was sensibly 
suspended ; and shame and confusion covered his 
face. And as the state of his own soul began to be 
perilous, he was obliged to employ the powers of his 
mind nearer home, and leave the salvation and ma- 
nagement of the world to God ; whose infinite wi 
dom needs no counsel of ours, nor will his supreme 
power, and absolute prerogative, ever be yielded oi 
given up to us. 

Ahimaaz. How subtle an adversary is Satan ! 
who would have thought that such an one as Prodi- 
galis, a man so wonderfully delivered, and who had 
experienced such superabounding grace, could be so 
easily led from an humble submission to the will of 
God, even to rebel in his heart against him, and a- 
gainst those very truths that had made him free ; 
but, alas ! what is man if left to himself ? Pray how 
was he delivered out of that snare ? 

Cushi. As he was one day reasoning and disput- 
ing in his heart against the doctrines of election and 
particular redemption, and impiously censuring the 
sovereignty of his Maker, these words came to his 
mind with power, and full fraught with divine re- 
proof : " Produce your cause, said the Lord, bring 
forth your strong reasons saith the King of Jacob," 
Isa. xli. 21. This made Prodigalis tremble ; he 
thought within himself, that if he justified all the 
world it would be of no force against the judgment 
of God ; and if he held the whole system of natural 
religion, that would afford him no salvation below 
the grave ; for if God was his enemy, who could be 
his friend in eternity ? He went at last with an hum- 
ble confession of his folly to his lord, and intreated 



De 
is 



OR, satan's law-suit with a saint. ITS 

him to undertake for him, and extricate him out of 
this puzzling, this soul-distressing labyrinth of con- 
fusion ; and the Blessed Saviour was intreated of 
him, and gave him a wonderful deliverance ; he 
sent such light and comfort into his soul as he 
thought he never had experienced before ; the dark- 
ness and confusion of his troubled heart, and his 
carnal reasonings against the sovereign will of his 
Lord, vanished, and his love and zeal burned stron- 
ger for truth than even 

Ahimaaz. I evidently see that there is no growth 
in grace nor in knowledge, without crosses and tri- 
als ; for, as Hezekiah saith, u by these things men 
live, and in all these things is the life of our spirits." 
A child of God often gains ground by such stum- 
blings, and gets fresh discoveries out of confusion : 
for" God discovereth deep things out of darkness, 
and bringeth out to light the shadow of death. 

Cushi. Very true ; and this was the case with 
Prodigalis ; he had been for some time in the busi- 
ness of an Attorney, and had learnt many curious 
quibbles of law, and had formerly entertained no 
small opinion of his nervous logic. Satan knew 
this, therefore he swelled his pride of that talent, 
exalted his former applauded reason to the decisive 
chair, and then shewed the inconsistency of his new 
religion with his former rules of logic. Prodigalis, 
having lost a sense of his comfort, and the sight of 
his Advocate, displayed his former talent ; but as 
reason was too stiff to submit to a superior powder, 
pride called in rebellion : flesh and blood was con- 
ferred with concerning the mysteries of heaven ; and 
the more reason laboured, the mote she was con- 
founded : unbelief, getting the upper hand, gave 
the lie to all that was divine ; and thus; between a 
confounding devil, and confounded reason, the triaJ. 
ended in wind and confusion, and Prodigalis, with 



174 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER £ i 

all his natural abilities, was found in the balance of 
the sanctuary to be lighter than vanity. 

Ahimaaz. Nevertheless I dare say this trial 
turned out to a good account to poor Prodigalis, for 
it must teach him the insufficiency of natural reason 
to determine divine matters, and must undoubtedly 
convince him of the need of God's promised spirit 
to guide him into all truth. 

CiTsin. Yes, my brother, Prodigalis lost nothing 
but dross in this fiery trial ; he was effectually con- 
vinced that the Spirit of God was the only all-suffi- 
cient arbitrator in divine causes, and that reason 
must submit even to faith, instead of dictating to 
God. This was displayed to him in his after-con- 
templations on the faith of Abraham, whose obedi- 
ence is set forth as our example, after whose foot- 
steps we are to copy, and who is called the father of 
us all* Hence we are commanded " to look to Ar 
braham our father, and to Sarah that bare us," Isa. 
B. 2 ; and to tread in the " steps of our father A- 
braham," Rom*, iv. 12, " who is the father of us 
all," ver. 16. Prodigalis considered first the call of 
Abraham, and the obedience of his faith ; in which 
act he found that carnal reason was wholly excluded ; 
" By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out 
into a place which he should after receive for an in- 
heritance, obeyed, and went out, not knowing whi- 
ther he went," Heb. xi. 8. By faith he obeyed, and 
went; while Abraham and his reason were kept en- 
tirely out of the secret — for he " obeyed and went 
out, not knowing whither he went," which reason 
/would call a wild-goose chace. Abraham received 
a promise of the land of Canaan, and u that he 
should be heir of the world,," Rom. iv. 13 ; and yet 
u God gave him none inheritance in it, no not so 
much as to set a foot on," Acts vii. 5. Abraham 
had a good estate behind him in Ur, and had left 
that to wander in a strange land y where he had all 



OR, satan's law-suit with a saint. 176 

in hope, but nothing in hand. If reason had been 
consulted in this matter, her determination would 
have been this, " One bird in the hand is worth two 
in the bush ; M and therefore, like Balaam, she would 
be for " getting herself back again," Numbers xxij, 
34. 

When God made Abraham a great Prince, and his 
lady a Princess, Reason would have expected the 
palace of Salem; but, instead of that, the king of 
that city " blesses him as the less, for without all 
contradiction the less is blessed of the better," • Heb. 
vii. 7 — gives him refreshment— ta^es tithes of him 
as his Sovereign and High Priest, but gives him no 
invitation to the city, much less to the palace. All 
these riddles Abraham's faith had to explain ; which 
would have remained as obscure to human reason as 
." Sampson's riddle did to the Philistines, If we 
plow not with Christ's heifer we shall never find out 
his riddles.'* Abraham's leaving his own country, 
was to teach him that this world was not his home ; 
his travelling in pilgrimage was explained by faith, 
that this xvas not his rest, because it is polluted, as 
the land of Canaan was with filthy inhabitants ; — his 
promise of the land of Canaan, and of the world, 
faith construe to mean an heavenly country, Heb. xi. 
16, and a new world to come; Abraham's not inhe- 
riting Salem, after he had received the promise of 
the whole land, and was made a Prince in it, faith 
led him to understand, that he must seek Jerusalem 
that is above, " as that city that hath foundations, 
whose maker and builder is God," Keb. xi. 10. 

These things Abraham had in view, and his faith 
brought them to live in his soul ; — an earnest and a 
foretaste existed in Abraham's heart by faith, and 
thus his " faith was the substance of things hoped 
for, and the evidence of things not seen." The way 
that these things were to be obtained was shewed to 
Abraham in the offering up of his son (as typical of 



176 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER J 

Christ), which Reason would have called murder 
instead of obedience. Abraham communed with 
his God in the promises that he had revealed to him, 
and enjoyed much sweetness in the blessings con- 
tained in them ; and by his faith he lived in a state 
©f perfect reconciliation and friendship with his God, 
and endured his pilgrimage like Moses— as seeing 
him who is invisible ; which to reason, is no better 
than a plain contradiction, and is called enthusiast! 
to this day. 

As Abraham lived, so he died ; faith attended 
his last moments, and, like a divine and constant 
friend, lent her supporting aid in the moment of dis- 
solution, and handed the redeemed soul to the cen- 
tre of all happiness — " he died in faith, " and " re- 
ceived the end of his faith, the salvation of his soul.""' 
His shield is now his everlasting portion, he enjoys 
Canaan in the best sense, and Salem is his royal city 
in every sense ; and he, like Melchisedec of old, is 
no less than a King and a Priest in it. 

Ahimaaz. These contemplations must be very 
sweet to Prodi galis, as well as teach him to keep 
Keason in her proper place ; that, in matters of di- 
vinity, wisdom may be asked of him that giveth li- 
berally andupbraideth not ; besides, he must seethe 
necessity of being kept by the mighty power of God, 
when he saw the various stratagems of Satan, and 
the advantages that he had hitherto gained over 
him. 

Cushi. It is a wretched fault in Christians to 
neglect prayer in these times of trouble ; they often 
fall to reasoning, disputing, and contriving, instead, 
of supplicating; this is their loss, and the devil's 
gain. Thi i is evident in Jonah, when God com* 
manded him to denounce his judgments on Nineveh. 
He begins to reason on the goodness of God, and of 
his slowness to anger, and then concludes, that if 
God repented of the evilWs reputation would fall to 



or, satan's law-suit with a saint. 177 

the ground; he then began to contrive which way to 
save his reputation, and Satan told him by a flight to 
Joppa — Jonah tells you, that "they that observe lying 
vanities forsake their own mercy," Jonah ii. 8. You 
hear nothing of Jonah's prayer till he got into the 
fish's belly ; so far from it, that neither the impor- 
tunity nor the example of the heathen mariners could 
draw one petition from Jonah. The sailors called 
every man upon his God, and desired Jonah to try 
his interest with his ; but he would rather sink than 
supplicate — so stubborn is the sinner when carried 
away with a lying vanity, in defence of his own 
supposed merit, worth, or reputation. However, 
Prodigalis found Satan too subtle an Attorney for 
him, and therefore he was glad to become a pauper 
upon the crown of heaven, where his inheritance 
lay, and where it was well secured by his Saviour 
(under whose direction only he could gain the suit), 
who is by profession an Advocate, and by nature 
and repute wonderful in counsel and excellent in 
working* 

Ahimaaz. I greatly admire the instructions that 
Prodigalis got by his last trial ; for I am fully per- 
suaded that he that denies the sufficiency of his own 
reason in divine matters, shall ever appear the most 
reasonable man ; while, on the other hand, those 
that exalt it against divine revelation, appear of all 
flesh the most unreasonable, Divinity is the great 
beautifier and ornamentor of nature ; and to deify 
human nature, in contempt of divinity, is to leave 
her exposed to infinite and everlasting contempt and 
deformity : for it is thought by some, that an enemy 
to God will not appear at the general doom in a hu- 
man shape, sin will deform them, and make them 
not unlike evil angels ; and, if so, it is not without 
a meaning that the wicked are called serpents, which 
is Satan's name, and was once the shape that he as- 
sumed : nor is it without a meaning that the saint 



178 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNEK £ 

shall appear as the angels of God in heaven. Pray 
how did Prodigalis go on after this happy deliver- 
ance ; did the old Attorney attack him again ? 

Cushi. There is no fear of that ; Satan will ne- 
ver give up tempting long together. Prodigalis 
found it as his blessed Lord and master did in his 
days — " And when the devil had ended all his temp- 
tations he departed from him for a season/' Luke iv. 
13, that he might come again at another seasonable 
opportunity. Prodigalis walked some time very 
comfortably, and enjoyed much sweetness in his 
soul, from the rich mercy of his Lord ; who not 
only brought him to repentance at first, but still de- 
livered him out of his troubles and difficulties, and 
kindly sealed the pardon of his manifold infirmities 
home upon his conscience. This comfortable gale 
continued some few weeks with Prodigalis, and he 
expected it would continue to the end of his voyage; 
but instead of that, it began gradually to abate as 
before, which he was much grieved at. The Bible t 
that had afforded him such sweet discoveries and 
comfort, seemed to conceal its wonders ; the light 
shined not on it as usual, therefore David's petition, 
shew me wonders in thy law, was very seasonable 
to him. He found himself much strengthened in 
prayer also-— he had not that freedom of access with 
confidence as formerly, and therefore little delighted 
in it. These things are very trying to a poor soul 
that has been brought into tender favour, and indulg- 
ed with sweet communion with the Lord j the poor 
soul is " like a child that is weaned from its mother, 
yea such a soul is like a weaned child/ 5 Psalm 
cxxxiii. 2. 

Ahimaaz. I know what that is — my soul has 
had a sad experience of that ; to be debarred the 
heavenly freedom — -to find divine comfort suspended 
— to go mourning under the sensible frowns of the 



or, satan's law-suit with a saint. 1/9 

best of fathers, is one of the sorest afflictions that a 
new-born soul can labour under. 

Cushi. It really is; but Prodigalis did not stay 
here ; for he found the word of God preached had 
no effect upon him ; it neither gave him reproof nor 
comfort ; he appeared in one of the worst of frames 
— cold — stupid — and insensible ; and in this state 
he continued many days, until reading the Bible 
became a burden, and prayer a talk ; he went about 
his devotions like a galled horse to the collar, or an 
unaccustomed bullock to the yoke ; his service was 
mercenary, and performed with reluctance, and so 
he continued until his soul was shut up in legal bon- 
dage. What to make of this trial he knew not ;— • 
it was a frame that he had never experienced before. 
In process of time he began to give way to a peevish 
fretful temper, which his conscience often smote him 
for, as it cast a gloomy shade upon the glorious re- 
ligion of Jesus Christ ; besides, he had made a great 
stir in religious matters, which had brought the eyes 
of many upon him ; some zvatched for his halting , 
and some for his persevering : those that watched 
for his halting, could make his anger appear by cruel 
mockings ; while those that loved him were grieved, 
for they saw that his soul was not healthy, because 
his countenance was not comely. When peace reigns 
in the conscience, God is the health of the counter 
nance, Psalm xiii. 11. 

This dark, cold, and lifeless frame, brought on a 
fit of unbelief, to which he so much yielded as at 
times to give up prayer, which was adding sin to 
sin ; and when some of his associates came to him 
for spiritual conversation and instruction, he with- 
drew, and, like Jeremiah, determined to u speak 
no more in the name of the Lord," Jer. xx. 9, This 
was doubling his transgression ; and at last he neg- 
lected the sanctuary service, and began to ira# 
wretched conclusions concerning his state, and t n n 



180 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER | 

gave way to doubts and fears, and consequently to 
rm , muring and complaining. Now was the time 
for Satan to work again ; accordingly he entered 
another action against him, and brought him to the 
court of common pleas, and there he attempted to 
appeal even to the divine oracles. The plaintiff 
shewed that a child of God could not sin— u he that 
is born of God sinneth not," 1 John v. 1 8 ; but that 
Prodigalis was not one of them, for he sinned in 
heart, in thought, and in word, and was guilty of 
the sins of omission and commission, yea, of the 
sin of rebellion also, both in heart and in lip. 

Then the plaintiff asked if he could use the com* 
mon pleas of bible saints. Canst th©u say with He- 
zekiah, " I beseech thee, O Lord, remember now 
how I have walked before thee in truth, and with a 
perfect heart, and have done that which is good in 
thy sight," 2 Kings xx. 3. Has thy heart been per- 
fect ? has it not been altogether perverse and fro* 
ward ? and have not thy lips muttered perverseness, 
and thy tongue used deceit ? yea, and tnou hast even 
fled from he work of God. And canst thou plead 
like Jeremiah— -" As for me I have not hastened from 
being a pastor to follow thee ?" Jer. xvii. 16. Thou 
art so far from being able to use such pleas as these, 
that thou hast run from the work, and by thy peevish 
temper has cast a slur upon it. Canst thou say, 
u Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and 
wipe not out my good deeds that I have done for the 
house of my God, and for the offices thereof,*' Neh« 
xiii. 14. Nay, said the plaintiff, thou hast been at 
times so far from this, that thou hast secretly wished 
that thou never hadst opened thy mouth at all. The 
plaintiff farther shewed that Prodigalis had been at 
times so hot upon religion as to neglect secular busi- 
ness, instead of being u a prudent man, and guid- 
ing his affairs with discretion," Psalm cxii. 5, there- 
fore cotild never use the common plea of Job — H If 



the land cry against me, or that the furrows thereof 
complain, let thistles grow instead of wheat, and 
cockle instead of barley, Job xxxi. 38. 40, 

Ahimaaz. O what a malicious plaintiff — what 
a subtle Attorney — and what a keen accuser that old 
serpent is ! with what diligence does he watch for 
his opportunities to tempt poor thoughtless mortals ! 
It seems to be his whole study and anxiety ;« — as the 
Saviour intimated to Peter, when he said, " Simon, 
Simon, Satan hath desired to have thee, that he 
may sift thee as wheat ; but I have prayed for thee 
that thy faith fail not,'' Luke xxii. 31. 

Cushi. To dishonour God — oppose his gospel- 
disturb his saints — -and ruin sinners, is his whole 
employ ; however, all his accusations could not sink 
Prodigalis into despair, for he had got a good hope 
at the bottom, " which is an anchor of the soul both 
sure and stedfast," Heb. vi. 19. Prodigalis was 
u persecuted by Satan, but not in despair ; he was 
cast down, but not destroyed," 2 Cor. iv. 9. In- 
deed, at last he made a very good use of Satan's ac- 
cusations ; for as Satan accused him of various sins, 
Prodigalis began to confess them to God as fast as 
the devil brought them forth ; this is making the 
best of a bad matter, and out-shooting the enemy 
with his own bow. The accuser, finding Prodigalis 
at this work, soon ceased his accusations, and began 
to dispute with him about his sonship. The plain- 
tiff shewed, that the saints of God in the days of 
old could work miracles, and cast out devils ; but 
Prodigalis was so far from that power that he could 
not deliver himself from a temptation, much less 
work miracles. The poor soul on a sudden began 
to find the word of God flow in upon his mind, and 
he opened his mouth against his accuser in the fol- 
lowing manner : 

The defendant sheweth, that many have worked 
miracles that will never be saved ; " many will say 

Q 



18.2 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER ; 

in that clay, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in 
thy name, and in thy name cast out devils, and done 
many wonderful works ??•' unto whom the Saviour 
will say, I never knew you* The Egyptian magici- 
ans worked miracles, and yet were no children of 
God. Devils may work miracles, or lying' wonders^ 
and be devils stilL Many workers of miracles the 
Saviour will refuse in the great day ; but a pardon- 
ed sinner, a believer in his name, he will never dis- 
own. The defendant shewed moreover, that the 
devil wanted the Saviour to satisfy him of his being 
the Son of God, by starting an if and desiring a 
miracle ; " If thou be the Son of God, command 
that these stones be made bread," Matt. iv. 3. But 
the Saviour would not satisfy his adversary by a 
miracle, but left him to doubt who he was r or to find 
It out: which Satan soon did, when he perceived 
that no temptation gained ground. But he felt who 
he was when he entered upon his ministry — cast out 
devils — and by his own Almighty power began to 
destroy Satan's works. 

The adversary gaining no ground upon Prodi«- 
galis by this, went back and puzzled him again up- 
on the. old text, He that is born of God sinrieth 
not : and here he foiled the poor man ; for he had 
not a right understanding of that text ; nor could he 
with conscience use the ancient saints common pleas, 
On these two heads the plaintiff gained ground : 
therefore Prodigalis was obliged to turn away his 
ears from common pleas, and make use of them that 
are too seldom used. For after the accuser had 
gained a considerable advantage of him from the 
text abov? quoted ; namely, that he that is born of 
God sinne.th not, the defendant cried out, " The 
blood of Christ cleanseth from all sin,'' 1 John i. 7. 
This put the accuser to silence. The defendant 
finding that, produced another promise, saying, It is 
written, u Behold I give unto ; on power to tread on 



or, satan's law-suit with a saint. 183 

serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of 
the enemy; and nothing shall by any means hurt 
vou," Luke x. 19. This weakened the temptation 
greatly : therefore, Prodigalis followed him up again, 
saying, It is written, My heart is Jixcd, trusting 
in the Lord : in love my heart is fixed ; nor can ail 
your wiles ever make me . hate my Sovereign, or 
make me loyal in your interest ; therefore I am up- 
on the rock ; and it is written, "That the gates of 
hell shall not prevail against it," Matt, xvi. 18. 
It is written} it is written r gives a terrible blow to 
the accuser : he cannot stand the sword of the Spi- 
rit, nor the power of the Saviour, who is the sin- 
ner's only plea. " No falsehood can stand the touch 
" of celestial temper," says Milton. 

Ahimaaz. It is a blessed thing to be well in- 
structed in the word of God ; the word of truth is 
both sword and shield. It is through the comforts 
of the scriptures we have hope* The JBible should 
be read by every believer as the will of his hea- 
venly Father; in which lays his vast inheritance; 
secured by absolute and unconditional promises, 
which were made to Christ, and to us in him, and 
all ratified with a divine yea and Amen. 

The whole covenant of promise that was made 
with the Saviour, and all the promises and blessings 
of that covenant were given by the Father to the 
Son, and by the Son to us : u For I have given them 
the words which thou gavest me, and they have re- 
ceived them, and have known surely that I came out 
from thee ; and they have believed that thou didst 
send me," John xvii. 8. And all the&e covenant 
promises and blessings will be found in the church 
in the great day, when the earth and all her works 
will be burnt up : yea, when all books are burnt up. 
Bibles and all, the Spirit of God, and the word of 
God, will then be found in the church of Christ. 
44 As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith 



184 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNEP* J 

the Lord ; my Spirit that is upon thee v and my 
words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not de- 
part out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy 
seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith 
the Lbrd, from henceforth and for ever, 75 Isa. lix. 
21. Thus the word and the Spirit will return in the 
church unto God, the fountain of all divine happi- 
ness, and the eternal centre from whom every bles- 
sing came to the church, and in whom they all must 
terminate with the church. 

The great and grand end that the Almighty aim- 
ed at in his great works is, " That in the ages to 
eome he might shew the exceeding riches of his 
grace, in his kindness towards us through Christ 
Jesus, 5 ' Eph. ii. 7. The word and Spirit, which 
are compared to rain, shall never leave the world 
till all the elect are called, made fruitful, and meet- 
ened for glory by it, ** For as the rain cometh 
down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not 
thither ; but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring 
forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, 
and bread to the eater ; so shall my word be that 
goeth forth out of my mouth, it shall not return 
unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I 
please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I 
send it," Isa. lv. 10, 11. Pray, observe the above 
text : the end of a shower is to give bread to the 
eater ; so God's word and Spirit, compared thereto, 
is to make us, being- many, one bread, 1 Cor. x. 
17. that as the shew breads or the bread of faces, 
was set on the golden table in the most holy place 
every Sabbath day ; even so shall God's elect be 
presented (not like Ephraim, a cake not turned, 
Hosea vii. 8. but perfectly leavened by the Holy 
Ghost) in the presence of God ; to the glory, ho- 
nour, pleasure, and satisfaction of every attribute of 
God, who in the end will be all in all ; when the 



OK, 3ATaN*S LAW-SUIT WITH A SAINT. 185 

eternal Sabbath (of which the Jewish was a sign) 
shall arrive. 

O how sweet is the word of God ! and what a 
pity that so many real Christians are so little ac- 
quainted with it. What profound mysteries does 
it sometimes disclose, when we can read it in the 
language of our own heart's experience, and feel 
its divine force and operations, as the blessed Spirit 
is pleased to move on these holy waters of the 
sanctuary. 

It is in perusing the word that we converse with 
the Father in his secret decrees and purposes ; with 
the blessed Redeemer in his great undertakings, 
sufferings and soul -comforting discourses ; and 
with the blessed Spirit, who spoke by the patri- 
archs, prophets, and apostles, Yea, I have ofteiv 
found the sweetest companions, and the greatest 
company, when I have been alone. It is by the Spi- 
rit's operation, by the bond of love, by a unitv of 
sentiment, and by a unity of the faith of God's 
elect, that xve come to the general assembly and 
church of the frst-born which are written in hea- 
len. It is by our arraignment and justification 
that we come to God the Judge of all ; and by the 
Spirirs operation that we come to the spirits of just 
men made perfect. Believing in Jesus for life and 
salvation, '* is coming to the Mediator of the new 
covenant :" and receiving the atonement by faith, 
is " coming to the blood of sprinkling that speaketh 
better things than that of Abel," Heb. xii. 23, 24. 

O how I love a Bible Christian ! A believer who 
is not a constant reader of his Bible is like a soldier 
without arms. The reason of so many being 
led astray into all manner of errors is, because 
they take their religion up upon trust, and so fix 
their .faith on the wisdom of men, instead of the 
power of God. Christ tells us to search the scrip- 
tures. The prophet savs- u To the law and to the 
<±2 



186 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SiKKEBf ? 

testimony ; if they speak not according to this word, 
it is because there is no light in them/' And in Job 
we are commanded to pray for divine teaching : 
" What 1 know not teach thou me," 

I will never believe that so maiay would be led 
to credit the doctrines of Universalists, if they were 
convinced of the necessity of divine teaching, and 
led to receive it from the Bible. They would find 
no universal grace, nor universal redemption there : 
nor is there any signs of it in the world at pre- 
sent, for its inhabitants seem to get worse and 
worse. But do give me a little account further 
of Prodigalis. 

Cushi. The advocates for free-will, human 
power, and universal grace, rhay extend their own 
pity and compassion as far as they please : but 
divine grace and mercy are the properties and pre- 
rogatives of God ; and therefore they have no right 
nor warrant to be so profuse and lavish with that 
which is not their own. But to proceed. After 
Prodigalis had put his accuser to silence with 
the force of truth, these words were applied 
with power to his mind. " Let us therefore come 
boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain 
mercy and find grace to help in time of need," Heb. 
iv. 16. This was a reproof to Prodigalis, who 
had neglected that most blessed duty and privilege 
of prayer. It was likewise to encourage him in fu- 
ture. And the latter part of the text convinced him 
that he would often stand in need of mercy and 
help ; and that if he would have those blessings he 
must pray for them. He obeyed the invitation : 
and set his face to seek God by prayer and suppli* 
cation, though it was with much shame and con- 
fusion of face at first : for his unbelief, his cow* 
ardice, his murmuring, and his omitting prayer, 
reading, speaking, and hearing the word, all stared 
him in the face. The Lord will not be neglected 



or, satan's law-suit with a saint. 18r 

nor slighted without giving us his sensible disappro- 
bation of it. The Lord's look upon Peter conveyed 
both reproof and pity ; and Peter felt both, when he 
wept bitterly. 

But notwithstanding all the faults of poor Prodi- 
galis, the blessed Saviour visited him again with his 
great salvation, and sealed pardon and peace home 
on his heart afresh, to let him know that peace should 
be multiplied ; which so established his faith in the 
unchangeable love of God, that he was ready to say 
in this his prosperity, u My mountain stands so 
strong! shall never be moved." Satan now disap- 
peared, and Prodigalis went on again in the work 
and worship of the Lord; and, if possible, he shined 
brighter, was more humble, and more useful in it 
than usual. It was with Prodigalis, in a measure, 
as it was with his Master ; " After Satan had ended 
all the temptations, Jesus returned in the power of 
the Spirit," and so did he : for he brought many 
comfortable discourses out of this fiery trial ; and 
was more capable of sympathizing with, and suc- 
couring the tempted than ever he had been before. 

Ahimaaz. Of all fathers, and of all friends, of 
all parental and conjugal affections, there is none 
that bears the least resemblance to that love and pity 
that flows to penitent sinners from the " Father of 
all mercies, and God of all comfort through Jesus 
Christ." It is so affecting to me, that I never can 
feel it without the deepest contrition ; nor can I even 
hear of the manifestation of it to others, without 
finding " my head furnished with water, and mine 
eyes a fountain of tears." God the Father's love, 
and the sufferings of Jesus Christ to procure so great 
salvation for the greatest of sinners, when applied by 
the Holy Ghost, strikes a man dead to sin r and to 
all the world. A soul in spiritual union with the 
Saviour, and favoured with a believing view of the 
benefits of his death, with a feeling sense of his in* 



188 TEE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER > 

terest in it, and with the enjoyment of pardon and 
peace procured by it, receives so deep an impression 
of divinity, and feels so weighty a sensation, that if 
it were to continue, it would be impossible for an 
human soul In this life to sustain it. The soul dis- 
solves in it as an ointment ; all company is burden- 
some ; and the body would be so neglected, that it 
would not be able to contain its heavenly inhabitant. 
Hence it is, that we so often feel strong conflicts be- 
fore we receive these kind indulgences, and have 
them generally counterbalanced with some succeed- 
ing affliction, which is to keep the soul in an even 
scale ; it being part earthly and part heavenly. And 
it may be observed, that the -draft is daily felt in one 
or other of these balances. 

Go on, my brother.*—- You must excuse my break- 
ing in upon you ; for when any part of the narrative 
of Prodigalis agrees with my own experience 
of the Saviour's great mercy tome, my bowels yearn 
and my heart is ready to burst ; I am obliged there- 
fore to imitate Elihu, Speak, that I may be eased. 

Cushi. Why, Prodigalis, after this, went on in 
a very comfortable and successful way ; and for a 
considerable time seemed well established, and was 
eminently useful ; and as he was remarkably fond of 
study, and private retirement, he kept up a close 
communion with his God ; and being of an heaven- 
ly mind, his pleasing element was divine medita- 
tion ; these, with the deep experience of his heart, 
furnished him both with word and power for the 
ministerial work, better than all the universities and 
academies in the world. A graceless collegian un- 
derstood no more of his celestial oratory than Pro- 
digalis did of Arabic. 

In process of time it happened that various errors 
began to spread and gain ground in those parts where 
his ministerial work lay ; and as Prodigalis had not 
Wen suffered to stumble into any of those errors, he 



OR, SATAN'S LAW-SUIT WITH A SAINT.' 189 

was at a loss for argument to oppose them. Several 
of the false ambassadors challenged and often dis- 
puted with Prodigalis ; you know there are none 
more daring, more confident, or more bold, than 
those that are hardened under the gospel, and blind- 
ed by the devil. In order to furnish himself with 
weapons for these champions, Prodigalis took to 
residing several books of their tenets, that he might 
dive into their errors, and overthrow their argu- 
ments. This dry, barren, and soul destroying stu- 
dy, soon brought Prodigalis from his heavenly mind- 
edness ; and the sweet refreshing dew that used dai- 
ly to fall on his soul was sensibly withheld. These 
books brought an heavy gloom on his mind, which 
beclouded his understanding; and some of then 
subtle, cunning, artful, crafty, and sophistical argu- 
ments, at times puzzled his judgment, though his 
heart and soul heaved with indignation against the 
whole of their works. 

Now was the time for Satan to work again ; and 
-as Prodigalis had been a little lifted up through the 
abundance of the revelations, some of these errors 
was a thorn in his flesh, and " as messengers of Sa- 
tan they buffeted him (which God permitted), lest he 
should be exalted above measure," 2 Cor. xii. 7. The 
devil set in with many of those errors, and gained 
a second advantage over him, until by buffeting his 
mind, by suggesting these errors perpetually to him, 
he sensibly wounded Prodigalis in his judgment, 
filled his soul with confusion, and kept truth and 
falsehood in a perpetual debate on his mind. This 
withered all his joys, banished peace and comfort 
from his heart, and left him to bemoan a sensible 
suspension of spiritual life and divine consolation. 

Ahimaaz. O how dangerous are erroneous books! 
What havoc have they made in the church of Christ ! 
They are nets which the lord permits the infernal 
fowler to spread, in order to catch hypocrites, who 



190 THE JUSTIFICATION. OF A SINNER J 

receive not the truth in the love of it, and to hum- 
ble some of his own children, who, instead of 
" trusting in the Lord with all their hearts, lean too 
much to their own understanding. 5 ' 

Prodigalis had no busines to fish in any such wa- 
ters, but to dive deeper and deeper into the mystery 
and spirit of God's truth : truth is sufficient bother 
shield and buckler. Let a man arm himself with 
this, and thi*ough grace he will be able to stand and 
withstand. Nothing overthrows error like plain and 
simple truth brought from God by prayer ; and the 
knowledge of it, the experience of it, and the prac- 
tice of it insisted on by the power of the Holy 
Ghost. These th'ngs, delivered by one who has an 
experience of them, attended with a solemn appeal 
to God and conscience, carry all before them, ex- 
cept the presumptuous, whom God in just judg- 
ment, and to their own destruction, permits, like 
Jannes and Jambres^ imperiously to stand their 
ground. 

For my part, I hate to see a young Christian try- 
ing the strength of his judgment by an erroneous 
book, or an erroneous ministry. I always think it 
is a daring presumptuous tempting of God, and pro- 
voking of him to leave us exposed to the temptations 
of the devil, as a proof of his disapprobation, and 
a just reproof for our presumption. u All that ever 
came before me, saith the Saviour, were thieves and 
robbers ; but the sheep did not bear them," John x. 8. 
And many such thieves and robbers are yet to come; 
and we are commanded not to follow them ; " And 
Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that 
no man deceive you : for many shall come in my 
name, saying, I am Christ, and shall deceive many^' 
Matth. xxiv. 4, 5. " And many false prophets 
shall arise, and shall deceive many," Matth. xxiv. 
11. u Go not after them, nor follow them," Luke 
xvii. 23. " Take heed how ye hear. Beware of 






OR,' SATAN 5 LAW- SUIT WITH A SAINT. 191 

the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees 
which is hypocrisy." All these are warnings and 
cautions that we should not tempt God. He com- 
mands us to bezvare of dogs, Phil. iii. 2. and not 
to be so fond of taking them by the ears, Prov. 
xxvi. 17. 

The Lord grant that I may ever exercise my mind 
in the knowledge of good, and not study the myste- 
ries of spiritual wickedness, Eph. vi. 12. Adam 
and Eve were happy while they knew only good ; 
but when they attained to the knowledge of evil, 
they soon found the u knowledge of evil got, and of 
4i good lost," as saith the learned Milton : and so 
many happy souls have found it since, by diving in- 
to the infernal mysteries of ghostly iniquity. " It is 
life eternal to know God, and Jesus Christ whom he 
hath sent ;" while on the other hand, the devils, who 
are masters of arts with respect to their knowledge 
of the mysteries of iniquity, are as far from happi- 
ness as divine felicity can place them. Some indeed 
read all sorts of authors, in order to obtain the right 
knowledge of God, and the way of salvation, by 
human means. And we may say of them, as a 
great apostle saith, " They are ever learning, but 
never able to come to the knowledge of the truth-" 
The Star of Jacob can never be found out by a tele- 
scope : nor can a saving knowledge of God be ob- 
tained by all the lines of practical philosophy. The 
man into whose heart God shines knows him, but no 
other. " For God, who commanded the light to 
shine out of darkness, hath shined into our hearts, 
to give the light of the knowledge of the glory oi 
God in the face of Jesus Christ," 2 Cor. i « 6* 
This is the only revealed way that a saving know- 
ledge of God can be attained in ; philosophical rules 
are wholly excluded in this matter : " Beware lest 
any man spoil you through philosophy and vain de- 
ceit; after the traditions of men, after the rudiments 
of the world, and not after Christ," Col. ii. 8. 



192 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER ; 

Cushi. I much admire your assertions. Divine 
knowledge must be sought with a suppliant knee at 
a throne of grace : to seek it any other way is a con- 
tempt of the revealed will of God, and an attempt 
to be wise above what is written. And the farther 
they go to find out God by human means, the deep- 
er they sink into error. To measure divine perfec- 
tions, and divine conduct, by human lines, and trac- 
ing all from the proper centre, down to the bar of 
depraved and unrenewed reason, is puzzling the hu« 
man soul in her fallen state, and loading her ration- 
ality with a burden, under which she is sure (with- 
out divine aid) to sink. 

When any child of God meets with a difficult text 
of scripture, difficult experience, or providence, 
how is his mind burdened, until by humble prayer 
he cast it off, or resolve it in the sovereign will of 
his God ; which when done, his faculties resume 
their usual vigour, and he moves sweetly in his hea- 
venly sphere ; and by these things he finds that God 
lays no more on him than he enables him to bear. 

Many have been drowned in error, open profani. 
ty, despondency, despair, destruction, and perdi- 
tion, by attempting the knowledge of Infinite Divinity 
by human wisdom, instead of submitting human 
wisdom to that which is divine and infinite. u Who 
can find out the Almighty to perfection ? it is higher 
than heaven, and deeper than hell ; broader than the 
earth, and wider than the sea," Job xi. 7, 8, 9, 
It has puzzled many of the learned naturalists in the 
world to unfold the mysteries of the thunder, and 
those strange phaenomenas the burning mountains. 
In these things they are just as much at an uncer- 
tainty as Moore's Almanac is in its predictions, from 
the aspects of the planets, concerning the weather, 
which, from the best observations that I have made, 
have hitherto been contrary to the events produced 
by Providence- 



■or, satan's law-suit with a saint. 

The real believer, when he hath considered h:^ 
frame, can with humble adoration say with the 
Psalmist, lam fearfully and wonder fully made. And 
with respect to the works of creation, and all the 
mysteries of nature, he can admire their Author, 
and say, Inxvtsdom hast thou made them alL 

But to proceed. — -This was one of the most puz- 
zling trials that ever Prodigalis had met with; for 
when the arch enemy had gained an advantage over 
him, and blinded his understanding, there was not a 
mystery in the Bible but he put his if to, and attempt- 
ed to raise doubts in his mind about. The mystery 
of the Trinity ; the wonderful mystery of our 
Lord's incarnation and essential divinity ; the vera - 
city and authenticity of the Bible ; the existence of 
Jehovah ; and even the existence of fallen angels', 
was not left out of the dreadful dispute ; though 
Prodigalis had sensibly felt the power, and wonder- 
fully seen the workings of all things then in debate-. 
O how careful should a child of God be to avoid 
these things ! How many have gone limping and 
halting to their graves, broken in judgment, barren 
in soul, fruitless in life, and confused in mind, only 
by reading erroneous books ! 

This trial effectually cured Prodigalis of that dis- 
ease. After this he acted like those in the Acts 1 ; 
" And many that believed came, and confessed, and 
shewed their deeds. Many of them also which used 
curious arts, brought their books together, and burn- 
ed them before all men : and they counted the price 
of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver: 
so mighty grew the word of God and prevailed," 
Acts xix. 18, 19, 20. Ancient books of curious arts, 
and modern books of cursed errors, are both of one 
lineage ; all came from one infernal source, and lead 
to the same infernal end. Embracing of an error is re- 
ceiving of a lie, and holding of a lie is certain destruc- 
tion. " And there shall in no wise enter. into it an'v 
R 



194 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SlNK'Stf :} 

thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abc~ 
minati'on, or maketh a die ; but they which are writ- 
ten in the Lamb's book of life," Rev. xxi. 27. 

Ahimaaz. I have no doubt but that fiery trial 
cured Prodigalis of that disease. It was with him 
as it was with the Jews ; they were in general doat- 
ing upon idols until their Babylonish captivity ; but 
the commandment of the king of Babylon in the 
plains of DurayDan. iii. 1. was a sufficient purge 
to cleanse them : at their return Ephraim was heard 
to say, " What have I to do any more with idols ? ,2? 
lloseaxiv. 8. 

Cuski. It was for many months that Prodigalis 
lay in that confused and bewildered state ; and yet, 
at uie same time, never advanced in public one sen- 
tence but what was point blank against those errors 
that his mind was harassed with ; but surely nothing 
but an experience of a work of grace, and the 
mighty power of God, can ever keep a soul sound 
in the truth through such strange, mysterious, and 
contused wanderings* However, it was an humb- 
li i ■• lesson to Prodigalis, which none but God and 
himself knew; and the application of this text sunk 
him into a very strange frame of mind ; " Hear ye, 
and give ear; be not proud ; for the Lord hath 
spoken. Give glory to the Lord your God, before 
he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble up- 
on the d*rk mountains ; and while ye* look for light, 
he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it 
jjross darkness," Jer. xiii. 15 16. Nor was it with- 
out a deal of hard wrestling with God in prayer that 
he got deliverance ; God made him feel the binding 
effects of error, that he might be satisfied with the 
knowledge of truth, and not launch into the perilous 
deep of confusion, where there is no anchorage. 

The first text that came as a prelude to his deli- 
verance was, " They also that erred in spirit shall 
• ) understanding, znd they that murmured 



6Rj satais's law-suit with a saint. 195 : 

A\n\\ learn doctrine," Isa. xxix. 24. The blessed 
Redeemer appeared again, and set matters to rights 
both in his conscience and judgment, but yet left 
him for some years to feel a sensible breach in his 
spirit, which served as a mark for Satan to cast his 
darts at. This was to convince him, that he had 
displeased the Lord in his curious diving into the 
infernal depths of Satan, which Prodigalis was sen- 
sible of. Yet in the end it tuned out to some good 
effect. For after this he was very self-diffident ; 
very earnest in cautioning others against error ; and 
.saw that nothing but a real experience of the truth, 
and a living faith in omnipotent power, could ever 
keep any soul in such a fiery trial. From this time 
he became a most zealous reprover and opposer of 
error ; which gave disgust to many who were entire 
strangers to his conflicts, and therefore altogether ig- 
norant of his inward sufferings, and of the wretched 
bitterness that had been communicated to his mind. 
Many of his hearers judged him, and condemned his 
spirit, his zeal, experience, and ministry. But soon- 
after, God permitted a few of them to feel the same ; 
v* T hich served to quench their love to these ministers 
of falsehood, and led them to prize the truth the 
more, and those that are zealous advocates for it : 
such as these afterwards became his most steclfiu t 
and most faithful friends. They began to find and 
i he worth of him as an instrument ; and were 
fully persuaded, that if God should remove ; 
they would sensibly feel their loss* However, by 
some of no experience, his zeal was condemned as 
a bad spirit; his levelling the force of truth against 
errors, was called personal reflections ; and his close 
attachment to his own testimony was called singu- 
larity: and if, by following the divine tuition of 
God, he stept but one inch from the rule of com- 
mentators* he was charged with being erroneous 



196. THE JUSTIFIGA1ION OF A SINKER; 

though none of his enemies could prove him a mi- 
nister of error either in life or doctrine. 

An ima a z. Every saint (as Job says) must see 
God for himself and not for another : they must 
receive their gospel from God by the power of his 
.Spirit, if they preach so as to save themselves and 
them that hear them. The apostle could boast, that 
the gospel that he preached " was- not after man y 
that he learned it not of man, neither was he taught 
it but by the revelation of Jesus Christ," Gal. i. 12. 
It is a most daring piece of wickedness to oppose a 
man in his. own personal testimony for God, when 
he is able to prove it to be consonant with the scrip- 
tures, and supports it by the same. For my part, I 
'believe that all whom the Lord sends into his vine- 
\ aid to labour, can give some account of the reason, 
of the hope that is in them : but there are some sent 
out by dissenting academies, and from our univeri- 
ties, who pretend they are sent, or inwardly moved 
by the Holy Ghost to take that office upon them : 
but they take pretty good care never to inform the 
church of God at large how that inward moving was 
begun and carried on in them : and what is still 
worse, they often oppose those that can. 

God is a sovereign, apd he will proclaim it ; and 
I much question, if ever he leaves the earth without 
some witness or other, w^ho will be deemed by some 
an irregular ) and by others a higotted dissenter* To 
monopolize the gospel, or confine it to any party or 
set of men, is like making an hedge round a cue- 
I:ow, in order to detain her all the winter. 

Ojshi. I have heard of late that some have ex- 
jmnged the book of Esther from their studies as 
nothing but a dry history, not canonical ; though 
the whole contents of it are the sufferings of the 
church, the salvation of God's elect, the fulfilment 
of prophecies, and the experience of God's favour- 



or, satan's law-sli. with a saint. 19/ 

ites; all which harmonize exactly with all the other 
sacred books of scripture. 

However, Prodigalis stedfastly taught the doc- 
trines that God had applied to his heart ; he en- 
forced the power that himself had felt ; and endea- 
voured, according to his light recei^fed, to back it 
with the sword of God. Nor were his labours in 
vain ; God oWned it to the salvation of many souls ; 
nor did he ever, after this sharp trial, pry with a 
vain curiosity into the mysteries of Satan. The 
Bible, and the books of good men, were sufficient to 
satisfy him ; and I wish that every child of God 
were contented with the same. 

After this fiery trial he did not mount so un- 
commonly high in his joys as usual ; but he w r alked 
in a more steady faith and frame of mind ; not so 
easily cast down as formerly, nor lifted up to such an 
amazing height in divine raptures. In short, the 
devil could neither destroy his hope, nor prevail with 
him to doubt of his interest in the Saviour : yet- he 
travelled on with much brokenness of heart before 
God, and laboured hard under a daily sense of hi? 
manifold infirmities. 

Ahimaaz. I have often found my mind sensibly 
injured and wounded only by the rehearsal of an er- 
ror, and the sophistical garb in which an advocate (or 
the devil has swaddled it up, in order to degrade the 
truth of God, and deceive the hearts of the simple, 
which is no wonder ; for it is the just that the devil 
aims to injure ; he hath the wicked in his own. pos- 
session. Hence it is that he cannot deceive the god- 
ly without blending the truth with his lies ; and the 
more truth the more taking, as may be seen in the 
word of God. The temptation that he brought to 
Eve had some of God's word in it ; and so had that 
which he brought to the Saviour ; though both were 
perverted so as to lead to presumption : for in all 
Satan's turnings and windings he always pursues one 
»'2 



198 TI3L JUSTIFICATION OS A SINSL. 

end, which is, the promotion of his own kingdom* 
to the dishonour of God in the destruction of souls, 

how many are there in this day, and some that 
I personally know, who have been seduced from a 
tolerable profusion of the gospel, and from an appa- 
rent reformation, only by reading the cursed systems 
of error, which to this day are so harnessed with it, 
that, as the prophet says, u Truth is fallen, and equity 
cannot enter," Isa. lix. 1 5. the delusion is so strong. 

Such proselytes will add to the torments of those 
who have left their cursed traps behind them : and 
ds they have appeared as blind leaders in this world, 
they will appear supreme in misery in the next. 
Such men die not in their own sin only, Numb, xxvii. 
3- but they have entailed the sins and destruction of 
thousands on the score of their own souls ; having 
shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; not 
entering themselves, nor suffering others to enter. 

1 have seen erroneous men in such a light as can 
never be described : but the great clay will reveal 
it : the whole mystery of iniquity shall be discover- 
ed by the brightiiess of the Lord's rising, and be 
consumed with the breath of his lips. 

Cushj. However, this is a comfort, that though 
it be saicJ^Ujf it were possible they shall deceive the 
very elect; yet that little if is worth a thousand 
worlds; for it renders it an impossibility for a cho- 
sen vessel to be finally deceived : and surely Prodi- 
galis is a living witness of this truth : and this trial 
of his cured his ears of their itching, and convin* 
red him pf the need of studying and sticking close* 
to the book of God. He found that error, as well as 
the least transgression, made sad breaches in his 
comfortable union a^d communion with his ever 
blessed Saviour ; which is the life a*ul soul of all real 
religion. And indeed he found it no easy work to ob* 
tain it again ; which when obtained made him prize 
* it the Hicrej-and made him the more fearful to offench 



or, satan's law-suit with a saint. I 

Ahimaaz. For my part I have not a doubt bur 
Aese things were made useful to him in his future 
ministry : for as he had sensibly felt the bondage 
and confusion of error, it must serve as a spur to 
his future zeal in opposing error with the force oi 
truth, because his own soul had felt the wretched 
effects of it. 

Cushi. Indeed all things work together for g 
to them that love God, and are the called according 
to his purpose* But Christ tells us to take heed how 
we hear : and Prodigalis had seen that text in its 
true meainng, and obediently took the caution; and 
was effectually convinced, that nothing less than an 
heart-felt experience of the truth, the teachings of 
the Holy Ghost, and the Lord's supporting hand, 
could ever keep a man sound in faith, when strongly 
opposed either by the devil or his agents. 

Ah I ma a z- And was the latter part of his life 
smooth and even ? Did he continue stedfast in his 
testimony, and industrious in the ministry of the 
word I 

Cushi. He continues stedfast, for aught I know, 
to this day : but as for an even path, I believe that 
seldom lasts long with such an one as he. When a 
man has been desperately wicked from his youth, 
and accustomed to many evil practices ; if such an 
one be called by grace, he has his old besetting sins 
to struggle with ; they will pursue him : and al- 
though the goodr-ess of God is so great as to keep 
him by his mighty power, through faith unto salva- 
tion ; yet his eld habitual customs the devil often 
brings strongly to his mind. And if these are in- 
dulged, even but in thought, divine comforts are oft 
abated. Against these belong prayed, and at times 
thought he greatly prevailed : but to his sorrow he 
still feels, that when he would do good evil is present 
with him. He often envied those who had been 
kept from the vices tod follies of childhood and 



206 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINGER ; 

yputh I judging that they had not such habitual cus- 
toms of evil to grapple with, as those that have run 
with the reins on their own necks into an open course 
of wickedness. He always said, that the best anti- 
dote against the troublesome thoughts of vanity was 
•-—labouring in the ministry, private study, private 
meditation, private prayer, private communion with 
God, and spiritual conversation with sound and 
lively Christians. In these things Jae delighted as 
in his most pleasing element. But he was very cau- 
tipus not to stand in the way of sinners ; nor yet, 
in any dispute with the wicked or erroneous, give up 
one single article of the testimony that God had ap- 
plied to his heart ; finding it so consistent with the 
unerring word of God, which must ever be our 
rule, Prodigalis knew that " the prudent were 
crowned with knowledge ;"and that crown we must 
not give up. " Hold fast that which thou hast, that 
no man take thy crown," says the Saviour. 

Ahimaaz. Those souls that are kept in their 
youth from an open course of wickedness, have not 
those cutting and bitter reflections, when brought 
under convictions, that the vile and vicious have :> 
yet I have often observed, that their former legality 
has stuck as close to their souls to keep them in bon- 
dage, as the bad practices of others do to bring them 
into sin. I myself was kept very upright and moral 
through all the days of my natural state, to outward 
appearance : but alas ! " God sees not as man sees ; 
man looks at the outward appearance, but God look- 
eth on the heart," 1 Sam. xvi. 7, and so I found it, 
for my self-sufficiency, self-righteousness^ and legal 
pride : — these heart sins were as detestable in the 
eyes of the Lord as the open profanity even of Pro- 
digalis himself. And although his arraignment and 
trial was dreadful to pass through, yet his wonderful 
deliverance afforded as strong a consolation as the 
other did a grievous afBictiorh 






OR, SATAN'S LAW-SUIT WITH A SAWT. 201 

Besides, my brother, you know that none but the 
elect are called : a Whom he did predestinate, these 
he also called." And the elect are all known of 
God : u Whom he did foreknow, them he did pre- 
destinate." This being the case, the bounds of their 
} habitation, the place and time of their conversion, 
yea, the manner how, and even the mouth made 
choice of^ Acts xv. 7, in order toconvey the word 
of life to their conversation, is all fore -appointed, 
and immutably fixed in the eternal decree. There- 
fore, whether their life, in their unconverted state, 
be openly wicked, or legally upright, it is according 
to divine permission. 

The apostle Paul was a chosen vessel, although he 
went such a singular length in persecuting the saints 
even unto death. God permitted him to go thus 
far, that in the conversation of such a man it might 
be proclaimed to the world, what free and irresisti- 
ble grace could : do " Howbeit, for this cause I 
obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ 
might shew forth all long-suffering, for a pattern to 
them which should hereafter believe on him to life 
everlasting,'* 1 Tim. 16. 

Cushi. All those things are true ; yet for my part 
I would rather have been kept from open vice in my 
natural state, than have been permitted to fall into 
it. Our Lord takes notice of this in Peter, who 
according to his own account had u walked in lasci- 
viousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, ban- 
quetings, and abominable idolatries," 1. Pet. iv. 4. 
I, say the Lord, takes notice of this ; and well he 
might : u Verily, verily, I say unto thee [Peter], 
when thou wast young thou girdest thyself, and 
walked whither thcu wouldest ; but when thou shalt 
be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and ano- 
ther shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou 
wouldst not," John xxi. 18. Such poor miserable 
sinners as Peter, Prodigalig, and jnrself, have 3 



202 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER , 

deal to suffer ; and though God doth abundantly 
pardon, Isa. lv« 7, yet such cannot forgive them- 
selves: the thoughts of their wretched wicked life, 
and of the abuse of God's long-suffering mercy, is 
cause of much mourning in secret. But eternal 
election to life sweetens all. For such can often look 
hack and see that the afflicting hand of God hath of* 
ten been upon them, and his preventing or deliver- 
ing hand hath often been with them, even fionv the 
cradle, I led Ephraim (said God), but he knew it 
not.— I girded thee [Cyrus], u though thou hast not 
known me, n Isa. xlv. 5. In short, all the elect 
may say with the Psalmist, "Thou hast been with* 
me from my mother's womb :'*■■ or with Jacob, 
a God hath fed me all my life long unto this day." 

Ahimaaz. I am sure I can say the same. Fbf 
notwithstanding my outward shew of religion, I 
felt perpetually the accusations of a guilty consci- 
ence ; and I knew that I indulged myself in many 
secret sins, which both God and conscience were 
privy to. Thus I can see that God gave me many 
a check, even in my blind state. In short, both 
the Pharisee and the Publican are dead in soul un- 
til quickened by grace r the painted sepulchre, and 
the sow in the mire, are both of a piece, and both 
en a level, under the law, and both in unbelief, and 
consequently both in a state of condemnation. And 
this God often made me feel by many secret lashes 
of conscience. For I knew that I was not that 
man in heart that I appeared to be in life : and as a 
confounded and abashed hypocrite I have often 
stood at the bar of my own conscience ; for I knew 
that all my works and shew of religion was only 
to be seen of men i " And how can such believe, 
who receive honour one of another, and seek not 
the honour that cometh from God only ? ,? John 
v* 44. The best of men in a state of nature, when 
once God begins to work on their souls, are Yikc 



OR, SATAN S LAW-SUIT WITH A BStl'KT. 5 

•the antidiluvians, between two foods — the inunda- 
tions of guilt — and the floodgates of wrath. — But 
do ted me how Prodi galis went on after his last 
•trial. 

Cushi. For some time this communion with 
his Lord was close and sweet ; and while this was 
enjoyed, his discourses were very heavenly and rap- 
turous ; insomuch that poor distressed and doubt- 
ing souls could get nothing under him ; he was 
too high for them, and too much filled with the 
joys of heaven to come down to their disagreeable 
feelings; for you know it is out of the abundance 
of the heart that the mouth speaketh : therefore the 
poor weaklings of the flock could only bear witness 
to the light of his countenance, and envy him his 
happiness. He preached up holiness likewise to a 
very high pitch ; insomuch that you would have 
thought at times that he had been perfect. 

Ahimaaz. If that was the case, poor broken- 
hearted siniaers, and those buifeted by the devil, 
could get but liule sympathy from him. For tempt- 
ed so j X are labouring under the plague of their 
own heart, v k themselves as far from holiness as 
Satan himself; when at the same time it is the 
quickening and illuminating power of the Holy 
Ghost that makes them feel and see the evil of their 
hearts. I have heard men preach as if divine holi- 
ness were to be produced and put in practice by flesh 
and blood. They call for heart holiness, family ho- 
liness, life holiness, insomuch that I have gone 
groaning home, and crying out, I have no holiness 
at all. 

Cushi. Yes; and there are many double-refined 
Pharisees in the world, that are destitute of the Spi- 
rit of God, who yet appear in all that outward garb 
of holiness that such call for. I have heard people 
preach up holiness in that way : but unless a man 
tells me where holmes is to be got, and how holinesss 



204 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER £ 

has operated on his own heart, I generally conclude 
that he knows but little of the matter. 

The Bible informs me, that " Jehovah is the holy 
one. There is none holy as the Lord ; for there is 
none besides thee," 1 Sam. ii. 2. God is the only 
fountain of holiness, and the elect have their holi- 
ness from him. 4i We have had fathers of our flesh, 
which corrected us, and we gave them reverence ; 
shall we not rather be in subjection to the Father of 
spirits, and live ? For they verily for a few days 
chastened us after their own pleasure, but be for our 
profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness," 
Heb. xii. 9, 10. 

The sanctification of a believer is, first, in Christ 
his Head | " He is made of God unto us sanctifica- 
tion, and redemption,'' 1 Cor. i. 30. In Christ the 
believer's sanctification is compleat: " Ye are corn- 
pleat in him," Col. ii. 10, Christ says, " Thou art 
all fair, my love, there is no spot in thee," Song, 
iv. ?«. 

Secondly, The believer's sanctification is also by 
the Spirit of God : u Elect according to the fore- 
knowledge of God the Father, through sanctifica- 
tion of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of 
the blood of Jesus Christ," 1 Pet i. 2. 

Thus you see the believer is compieat in Christ 
his Head, and sanctified in part by die Holy. Ghost, 
though he be not thereby made perfect in this life ; 
for if we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves, 
and the truth is not in us. This is all the holiness 
that the Bible speaks of; and this is the holiness 
that every real believer partakes of: and it i-sxalled, 
by way of eminence and distinction, true holiness , 
in opposition to that which is false and feigned, and 
only makes a noise, and an outward show in the 
world. Wherever this holiness is found, it is the 
workmanship of God,, and the glory of Christ's 
image. u That ye put on the new man, which afte-r 



OR, SATAN'S LAW-SUIT WITH A SAlfci. 2QS 

Crod is created in righteousness and true holiness , 
Eph. iv. 24. "after the image of him that created 
him;' Col, iii. 10. 

The soul that is united to Christ by the bond of 
love, and sanctified by the holy Ghost, is a holy man 
of God, 2 Pet. i. 21. and walks in the path cf ho* 
linessy Isa. xxxv. 8. his conversation will be holy, 
1 Pet. i. 15. and " he has his fruit unto holiness, 
and his end everlasting life," Rom, vi. 22. All 
closet holiness, family holiness, or life holiness, that 
springs not from this root, or flows not from this 
fountain, is only the varnish of a hypocrite, and 
may be found or seen on those whose hearts are fill- 
ed with covetousness, and where legal pride is en- 
throned, and Satanic rebellion encouraged. 

Ahimaaz. He that cleaveth the closest to the 
Saviour will ever be the most holy in heart, and 
the most fruitful in life : " He that abideth in 
me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much 
fruit ; for without me ye can do nothing. And 
that man will ever be the most happy whose heart 
is the most stedfast with the Lord : u Thou wilt 
keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed 
on thee," Isa. xxvi. 3. But do inform me how 
Prodigalis went on, and how long he continued oh 
the mount. 

Cushi. Why, after he had been some time ki 
this exalted frame, and had delivered many dis- 
courses as it were from the very threshold of heaven, 
the Lord was pleased to bring him under a strange 
discipline. In his private study he was very hap- 
py, and the scriptures were open to him, insorAUch 
that he generally went from his study furnished with 
a text, and the various heads of doctrine contained 
in it lay plain in his view, and often afforded him 
much comfort ; but when he began to speak, he 
found neither liberty in spirit nor in speech ; a 
gloomy confusion came gradually over his mind ; 
S 



200 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER ■; 

his thoughts fled from him, he lost sight of his 
subject, and his treacherous memory refused to 
give back what had been committed to her. This 
disagreeable straitness of soul rendered the ministry 
a burden to him ; for he never had experienced much 
before this of being bound in the spirit ; which was 
the more puzzling to him. 

Having been exercised a few times this way, he 
began to complain to his flock of the various chan- 
ges that passed on his mind, and of the difficult ex- 
periences that he had been exercised with. These 
things reached the hearts of the tried ones, and they 
gathered food under it ; which was quite a mystery 
to Prodigalis ; that a man in misery should be a mi- 
nister of comfort. They appeared to him in no bet- 
ter light than the Philistines, who shouted against 
Samson when he was bound, but dared not so much 
as look him in the face, when he was free. The 
weak and feeble believers, being so joyful, provoked 
him to spiritual jealousy. His adversaries hearing 
his complaints, and perceiving him at times to faul- 
ter in his speech, triumphed over him : while the 
Antinomian hypocrites, who hated his experience, 
who talk of faith and religion, while strangers to the 
power of both, w ere in daily expectation that his 
mouth would be stopped, and his ministry and pro- 
fession sink into obscurity, and plague them no 
more. 

Besides, he soon found that the bands that he felt 
in the pulpit followed him into his study likewise, 
until he went mourning all the day long. He had 
not arrived to that profound depth of experience 
that Paul had when he said, " And whether we be 
afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, 
which is effectual in the enduring of the same suf- 
ferings which w r e also suffer ; or whether we be com- 
forted, it is for . ion and salvation," 2 



jr, satan's law-sv/it with a saint. 207 

Atiimaaz. Though I often appeared so forward 
formerly to run with tidings, yet since I have been 
called by grace, I have trembled for fear it should 
ever fall to my lot. I see it the most important 
work under the sun. A minister, as a public per- 
son, has many that will cleave to him, which, are 
looking to him, and depending on him, under God, 
for instruction ; and these persons he must be ac- 
countable for, as a ruler of the household ; which 
if he lead wrong, their blood is on his head : for 
they depended on him, by taking him to be what he 
pretended to be, namely, God's saint, God's ser-~ 
vant, God's ambassador, and God's mouth. This 
is what every real minister is, and this is what every 
false preacher pretends to be, as well as a true one. 
If he be a false prophet, he will spit his venom at 
those that are true, and, to the utmost of his power, 
endeavour to vindicate himself in these characters, 
which his arrogance has assumed ; and blind, and 
bind all to him that he can. If he be a real believer 
in Jesus Christ, and one that is sent of God, he is 
right in vindicating himself in the above charac- 
ters, and in declaring God's plain truth, as he hath 
felt it in his own heart ; and as he lives it in his 
own life, he is a true saint, servant, and ambassador 
of Christ, and a faithful leader : he delivers his own 
soul, by declaring the whole counsel of God ; and 
clears himself of the blood of those that perish in 
their sins; and is a minister of the Spirit to tr 
who are truly spiritual. 

While, on the other hand, he that is a deceiver 
comes in God's name, who never sent him : he 
says he is sent of God, or inwardly moved by the 
Holy Ghost, when he never was ; personates God, 
whom he is a stranger to ; appears in an office tfcat 
God never conferred on him, and opposes those 
whom Christ hath sent. Hence poor deluded souls*, 
by believing his lies, look to him for instruction, as 



208 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER ; 

God's servant, When he is not; and if he prevails with 
them to adhere to, and live and die in his delusions, 
both the leader and the led end in destruction to- 
gether ; or as Christ saith, The blind lead the blind^ 
until both fall into the ditch. 

Cushi. What you have said is true : but Pro- 
digalis was no deceiver ; He went forth and 
ivronght, and the Lord worked with him 9 and con- 
firmed his word with many signs. But to be 
brief about his next trial. This bondage in his 
pulpit soon followed him home to his study, as 
was before observed, and at a throne of grace al- 
so, until his life, as well as his ministerial work, be- 
came both labour and sorrow. 

Under this most distressing and most miserable 
£ross, Prodi galis found dreadful murmuring and 
complaining : his old besetting sins began to call for 
some acknowledgment for past favours, and offered 
their pleasures in this his comfortless situation, if by 
any means they might gain a little lost favour, be a 
present prop, or lend a little present assistance to- 
ward lenghthening of his tranquillity. 

This bait was not altogether unseasonable. Dark • 
ness and bondage in prayer ; the same in study ; 
the same in company ; the same in the pulpit,-— 
made him catch at comfort from any quarter. Car- 
nal comforts are never represented to an heaven- 
iborn soul in so delusive a garb, as when divine con- 
solations are fled. When u the good man is not at 
home, but is on a long journey, and hath taken 
the bag of money with him ;" then it is that the 
wx>r!d " comes with her much fair speech, and 
flattering lips, in order to cause us to yield," Prow 
vii. 19, 20, 21. 

Now was the time for Satan to work ; and as he 
found that all divine comforts were gone, by the 
groaning petitions of Prodigalis ; and that many of 
his former besetting sins began to gain upon his 



or, satan's law-suit with a saint. 209 

affections, and to meet with a little indulgence 
though it was but in thought ; yet the devil drew 
him, before ever he was aware, to the court of 
conscience, and made his appeal to the heart, the 
thoughts, and even to the very conscience of Pro- 
digalis. 

First, the Plaintiff shewed, That his heart was 
got cold to the work, worship, people, and ways 
of God ; which the Defendant could not deny : 
for as he had met with nothing but frowns of late, 
in the ways of God, and as all divine comforts 
had left him, he could not deny but that earthly 
comforts had been indulged and embraced by hrm t 
as a rival to the God of all comfort. 

Secondly, The Plaintiff shewed, That the life 
of a real Christian was such, as never to offend* 
either God, conscience, or men i that the real saint 
was one that u exercised himself day and night, al- 
ways to have a conscience void of offence both 
towards God and towards men/' Acts xxiv. 16. 

Thirdly, That Prodigalis had left his frst love, 
Rev. ii. 4. that as iniquity had abounded-, his love~ 
had waxed cold; and therefore he had apostatised 
in heart from his God. Nor could he be deemed 
one of the number of them that persevere ; for he 
that enduteth to the end [in his first love] shall be 
saved* 

The Plaintiff farther shewed, That the thoughts 
of Prodigalis were often very carnal : and that in- 
stead of having every thought brought into capti- 
vity to the obedience of Christ, at certain seasons 
he had not a thought for Christ. 

Fourthly, That Prodigalis not only allowed these 
wanderings of heart, but at times really encou- 
raged them, and seemed to be entertained by them, 
especially when the presence of his Lord was gone ; 
and therefore he could not say, I hate vain thoughts, 
but- thy laxo da I love. 
£2, 



210 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER J 

Fifthly, The Plaintiff shewed, That he not only 
indulged these vain thoughts that lodged within 
him ; but that in the hours of sensible desertion he 
had endeavoured to suck comfort from them. 

Sixthly, That in some of his peevish fits he had 
even envied the happiness of the wicked, xvho are 
not in trouble as other men, nor plagued like other 
folks. 

Seventhly, That he had gone so far in this his 
peevishness as to call the proud happy, xvhom God 
resisteth : and in his deep poverty he had called the 
covetous blessed, whom the Lord abhorretlu 

Eighthly, The Plaintiff further shewed, That 
Prodigalis had not only given in to them in heart 
and word, but that he had been brought into capti- 
vity to the law of sin that is in his members. 

Ninthly, The Plaintiff appealed to the heart, 
thoughts, and conscience of Prodigalis for confirma- 
tion ; and asked if he could say, u That his rejoic- 
ing was in the testimony of a good conscience," as 
Paul did ? Could he say, " Happy is the man that 
^ondemneth not himself in the thing which he al- 
loweth/* Ronvxiv. 22. Nay, said the Plaintiff, you 
are so far from this, that thy own thoughts condemn 
thee. Therefore thou canst not lay thine hand up- 
on thy heart and say, in an holy triumph, u In the 
multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts 
delight my soul." Psalm xciv. 19. The plaintiff 
added, " He that is born of God sinneth not." 

Ahimaaz. Why, the devil sticks to his old 
text. 

Ctjsiix. - Yes ; and he will stick to it, until the 
poor believer either find out the real meaning of it, 
or else fall into error, or despondency under the de- 
vil's temptations about it. Satan threw down Adam 
with a text of scripture, and took the same method 
when he tempted the Son of God. 

Ahimaaz. I think this is one of the most puz- 
zling trials that ever Prodigalis had- It is a dread- 



or, satan's law-suit with a saint. 211 

ful thing to a soul that is quickened, humbled, and 
blessed with a tender feeling of the evil of sin, and 
with a filial fear of God, and an heart bent to ho- 
nour him, for such an one to be so left of God, as 
for his old wretched customs to be pursuing his 
mind, and entangling his thoughts, after he has so 
sorely suffered under the sight and sense of them. 
But, as poor Job says, u Such possess the iniquity 
of their youth," even in that sense, though not the 
guilt of them. 

For my part, I have often wished that God had 
took me to himself in my first love ; or else had 
granted me a residence where I might never see 
man, woman or child ; yea, neither sun, moon, nor 
stars. For the world is full of nothing but evil; 
look which way you will, sin presents itself : and if 
that steals on the heart, then my comforts die ; I 
wish either for heaven, or for the lonely cot of a her- 
mit 

Cushi.. If you had died in your first love, how 
could you have served your generation P and if you 
were shut up like a hermit, how could you u let 
your light shine before men, that they may see your 
gotfd works ?*' 

Your first request savours of a distrust of God's 
power to keep you ; and the last savours of cow- 
ardice, and of a narrow spirit : just as if the devil 
was to be left sole ranger of the world, because he 
has spread the earth with traps. No ; it well be- 
comes the saints, as good soldiers of Jesus Christ, 
to seek the welfare of the children of Israel, and 
the kindom of their ever blessed Lord : to oppose 
the devil's reign, and expose the devil's works also ; 
and so weaken his interest as much as possible. 
And though we find it a perilous work, and are in 
imminent danger at it, yet the battle is the Lord's ; 
the cause of truth is the Lord's cause; and his truth 
is our armour ; and the promise of victory is sure 
to all the seed. The Lord tells u* to- " quit our- 



212 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER / 

selves like men," instead of " creeping into holes:" 
and we may depend upon it, that his " strength will 
be made perfect in our weakness, 55 because he hath 
promised it. And when he comes to say, in the 
great day, " Well done, good and faithful servant, 
enter thou into the joy of thy Lord," that will pay 
for all. 

Ahimaaz. Pray how long did Prodigalis labour 
under this trial ? 

Cushi. For many months : yet no man could 
hate sin more ; no man mourned over it, struggled 
with it, or prayed against it, more than he did ; but 
notwithstanding all his efforts, he found himself to 
be a man burdened with the body of sin and death, 
which, God knows, he sorely groaned under. Be- 
sides his situation was hone of the most pleasing ; 
he had a large flock to feed, whether his own soul 
was flourishing or barren ; he had many enemies in 
the world, as well as friends; his enemies watched 
for his halting, and his friends looked at him as a 
copy ; the first looked for destruction, and the latter 
for perfection, and both were deceived ; for though 
he had as base an heart as the worst of them, and 
more temptations to grapple with than all of them, 
yet God did not permit him to be utterly cast down, 
to gratify his enemies, though there was enough 
exposed to convince his friends that he was not per- 
fect, but that the treasure was in an earthen vessel. 

The poor creature travelled in this way till his ve- 
ry soul was bowed down within him, and Satan 
tempted him even to " chuse strangling rather than 
life," Job vii. 15, or to drown himself, rather than 
suffer thus ; yea, he wanted him to imitate Jonah, 
leave the work, and flee from it ; he was so beset 
with temptations, and with conscience, that his very 
heart and soul failed him. However, at last he went 
to his lord with as heavy an heart as mortal coui d 
bear. He first sat down in his chair and reasone d 
with his Lord, until his sgrrow beg^a to- give wa y 



or, satan's law-suit with a saint. 21J 

he then kneeled on his knees— he confessed — he 
wept — he pleaded — he supplicated, until he obtained 
these sweet words as an answer to his prayer — " If 
our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our heart, 
and knoweth all things," 1 John iii. 20. he imme- 
diately felt strength communicated to his soul ; his 
accusing conscience was silenced ; he got up from 
his knees, and put the devil to flight with this text — 
" My flesh and my heart faileth, but God is the 
strength of my heart and my portion for ever," Psa. 
Ixxiii. 26. 

Now was the dear Redeemer more precious ta 
Prodigalis than ever ; his soul was sweetly becalmed, 
and blessed with a double portion of life and peace ; 
every evil thought of bis heart vanished — every 
besetting sin was detested and abhorred, and hea- 
ven itself seemed, if possible, to be in full view ; 
and the poor man vainly thought, and indeed often 
said, that he was ripening for glory; — that his 
work was pretty well done*— that he should not be 
long in this world, and that he was too happy to live. 
But the Lord counterbalanced his anxiety for hea- 
ven, by laying the concerns of his flock in the* 
midst of wolves, his wife, family, and friends, on 
his mind, which brought him into a streight be- 
tween two, having a desire to depart and be with 
Christ, which is better than being here ; neverthe- 
less " to abide in the flesh is more needful for you, 
Phil. i. 23, 24. says Paul, and so Prodigalis tho't, 
and therefore he prayed for submission to the will of 
God, that u whether he lived he might live to the 
Lord, or whether he died he might die to the 
Lord ; that whether he lived therefore or whether 
he died, he might be in the Lord's." 

Ahimaaz. That is a most safe and a most bles- 
sed frame of mind — to be resigned to the will oi 
God. There is no galling cross when our wills lay 
streight with the will of God ; it is our perverse 



214 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER; 

will contradicting, or laying counter to God's will,, 
that makes the cross, and the loss is all our own y 
for when we have made It we are compelled to 
take it up. In this we act like Haman, who erect- 
ed his own gallows at his own expence. The Sa- 
viour has coupled self-denial and the daily cross 
together ; if self be denied, the cross will lay easy, 
if self be consulted, then the cross galls us. But 
blessed for ever be the dear Redeemer, who knows 
whereof we are made— who knows the weakness of 
human nature, and confessed it, though his body and 
soul were perfectly free and pure from that sin and 
corruption that we feel, yet he complained that the 
spirit was truly willing, but the flesh was weak. 

The faithfulness of the Saviour appears wonder- 
ful in the repeated deliverances of Prodigalis. Well 
might Eliphaz tell Job that God "would deliver 
him in six troubles, yea in seven no evil should touch 
him," Job. v. 19* Prodigalis is a living witness of 
the delivering hand of God, and must be well ac- 
quainted with the blessed Saviour, especially in his 
glorious office as an Advocate. 

Cushi. Yes, the office of Christ as an Advocate 
is precious to Prodigalis, and to other poor tempted 
souls, who lay under the accusations of Satan ;: in- 
deed every poor sinner has three to accuse him ; 
sometimes his sins cry with an accusing voice, as 
u the sins of Sodom are said to do,*' Gen. xviiL 
20, 21. Conscience also will often accuse him, live 
how*he may \ and Satan will accuse him right or 
wrong ;. but, blessed be God, rve have an advocate 
zvith the Father, Jesus Christ is the righteous, 
and he is the propitiation for our sins ; and I be- 
lieve it is not an easy matter for Satan to get the ear 
of God the Father against us, because he has recon- 
ciled us to himself by Jesus Christ; this Prodiga- 
lis found by blessed experience, therefore he conti- 
nually looks to and calls on his Advocate, every time 



or, satan's law-suit with a saint. 215 

lie feels an accusation ; he sees the need of Jesus 
Christ in every office-character that he sustains, and 
is very wise in eying the Saviour in them according 
to the various trials that he passes through, 

Ahimaaz. And pray how did Prodigalis manage 
that text that Satan so often buffeted him with ; 
namely,- — He that is born of Gcd sinneth not : that is 
a very mysterious text ; did he ever make it out ? 
John says, that if we say we have no sin zve deceive 
ourselves, and the truth is not in us ; and James 
says, In many things we offend all; and Solomon 
declares there is not a just man upon earth that doeth 
good and sinneth not ; and yet John says, He that is 
born of God sinneth not. Some say, it means that a 
just man doth not serve sin, and that he doth not sin 
with the full consent of his will, as an unregenerate 
man doth. 

Cushi. That is a poor comment* Jonah sinned 
w T ith the full consent of his will when he chose a 
voyage to Joppa, rather than a w v alk to Nineveh. Paul 
says, " With the mind I myself serve the law of 
God, but with the flesh the law of sin," Rom. vii. 25. 
The dreadful evil that Adam contracted by his fall, 
and which is propagated to us by natural generation, 
is called the old man, even in regenerate persons* 
That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and will 
never be mended ; it will retain its own devilish na- 
ture — devilish motions — and desperate strugglings 
for mastery, even in the best of men, as may be 
seen in Paul's complaint in the seventh to the Ro- 
mans. This is called the old man ; and, like a des- 
perate criminal under sentence, it will oppose that 
grace that reigns over it ; insomuch, that w r hen die 
believer would do good evil is present with him ; and 
hoxv to perform that which is good he finds not) it 
is as binding as a law, and as furious as an hero ; — * 
I see another law in my members warmng against 
the law of my vivid, Rom. vii. 23- 



216 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER ; 

This being the case, John says, M If we say we 
have no sin we deceive ourselves, and the truth is 
not in us ■;" while, on the other hand, spiritual and 
divine life, which the believer receives from the Sa- 
viour's fulness by the word and spirit of grace, is 
called an " incorruptible seed ;" it is called the 
M new man ;" it is called " Christ in us the hope of 
glory ;" it is called " Christ dwelling in the heart by 
faith." "This is born of God, and will overcome 
the world," 1 John y. 4, and the old man too— - 
u Grace shall reign through righteousnsss, unto eter- 
nal life, by Jesus Christ our Lord*" JRom. v* 21. 

Thus the " new man, which is born of the spirit, 
is spirit," and will never be influenced by carnality ; 
and the " old man" made up of sin, which is u born 
of the flesh, is flesh," and will never be made holy 
by divinity ; " Whosoever is born of God doth 
not commit sin, for his seed remaineth in him ; and 
he cannot sin because he is born of God, 1 John 
iik 9. Sin will ever be sin, and grace will ever be 
grace. Sin will end in death temporal or eternal, 
and grace will reign to life eternal. The way to get 
at John's meaning is to compare 1 John iii. 9, with 
1 John v. 4, where the poor soul will get full satis- 
faction. 

Ahimaaz. I believe that to be the real meaning 
of the text, because it harmonizes with other parts 
of God's word ; and for my part I am satisfied with 
your thoughts on it ; and I take it for granted, that it 
was made out in that way to poor Prodigalis. 

Cushi. It was ; and therefore the devil never 
offered to give him another lecture on that subject, 
when he found that he understood its meaning. Sa- 
tan works chiefly in the dark with God's people ; 
when they are in dark frames, then he comes boldly; 
but when the rays of God shine upon them, he 
stands at a distance, he hates the light with perfect 
hatred. 



OR, SATAN'S LAW-SUIT WITH A SAINT. 217 

Ahimaaz. O what a great salvation are we saved 
with ! What potent and subtil enemies have poor 
believers got to grapple with ! And what need is 
there of being fervent in spirit, and diligent in the 
means of grace, which God hath appointed for our 
growth and encouragement. Pray how does Prodi- 
galis go on now ? 

Cushi. He goes on as most of the Iiord's people 
do, I believe. Sometimes he is up, and sometimes 
down; sometimes in the light, and sometimes in 
the dark. He often complains of his wicked heart, 
and of the weakness of his faith ; his short-lived 
joys, and long-lived corruptions, but against hope he 
■still believes in hope ; and says, that he shall neither 
believe nor hope in vain. Satan cannot dispute him 
out of his sonship, nor buffet him with the word of 
God, as he formerly has done on account of the 
corruptions of his own heart. For he says there is 
not a corruption that he groans under, but what he 
can find some saints in the word of God that have 
groaned under the same; and while he is in the foot- 
steps of the flock he thinks he is safe. All that he 
is afraid of is, that God should leave him to him- 
self ; he is truly sensible of his own weakness, and 
at times finds it no easy matter to believe that God 
will keep him upright even to the end, though he 
believes he shall be eternally saved. He dreads the 
thought of falling ; the thoughts of broken bones, 
and of going halting to the grave, is a terror to his 
soul. 

Ahimaaz. The Lord preserve and keep him 
through this perilous wilderness ; and when you see 
him, tell him that Ahimaaz, formerly a tidings- 
bearer, a Reubenite, one unstable as water, saluteth 
him v and wishes grace, mercy, and peace to him. 
And now what shall I say to thee, with whom I have 
taken such sweet counsel, and with whom I have 
soent the sweetest moments that I ever spent. The 
T. 



218 THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER, &C. 

Lord reward thee, my brother — send thee help from 
the sanctuary, and strengthen thee out of Zion — ac- 
cept thine offerings — grant thee according to thine 
ewn heart* — and fulfil all thy councils ; and God for- 
bid that I should ever cease praying for thee, whom 
God has made so great a blessing to me. 

Cushi. The Lord be with thee, my dear bro- 
ther, and strengthen thee by his spirifs might in the 
inner man, that thou mayest be strong in the grace 
that is in Christ Jesus ; and thou must not wonder 
if some temptations should befal thee after this long 
and happy conversation that we have had. Remem- 
ber adversity and prosperity are set one against the 
other ; expect a daily cross, and a glorious end, and 
thou wilt not be disappointed of either. Fare the 
well ; the shield of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, 
be ever with thee. 

Ahimaa^. Amen ; and with thee also. 



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